Until We Bleed
by LunarEclipse360
Summary: "They leave me," he whispered. "Why does everyone I love always leave me?" His tortured voice clutched her heart and she pulled him closer, trying to fight her own tears from falling. "I won't leave you." "Promise?" "I promise."
1. Preface

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: I know, I know. You're all probably like, why is she starting a new story when she has three she still needs to finish? The answer to that it, for the time being I'm unable to finish them. This story has been knawing at me for the past three months and I've been trying to make it right. So far, I've gotten four chapters done and the fifth one on its way to being written up. Unfortunately, I'm going away Saturday and won't be back until next Sunday, so this short chapter is all you'll be getting from me unless I get a bunch of reviews saying that you _really_ want to read this story. Then I might take some time out and go back over chapter 1, make sure it's all correct and upload it (cause I don't have enough time to send it to my beta but I will send her chapter 2 so that it will be checked over by the time I come back). I'm working hard at chapter 18 of _At The Beginning_, but I don't have it quite done yet and _Pieces_ is a mental stand still right now. Hopefully some time away from everything will get me back in shape with that story. I will be bringing my laptop with me, so I hope to get in some writing every now and then and be back with something for you to read since I'm taking forever with my stories. Anyway. If you want me to post chapter 1 by tomorrow, please review requesting that I do so :)**

Preface

It hurt.

It hurt more than anything.

And what was worse? She didn't know what to do.

The painful cries that escaped his throat broke her heart over and over again. She wanted to comfort him and tell him that everything would be all right, but she couldn't. How could she comfort him when she wasn't sure if he wanted to be? How could she tell him that everything would be okay when she wasn't sure if it would be? She couldn't. She couldn't, and that made it even worse.

Since the day she met him, she'd never seen him this way. He'd always been so strong, so self-assured, but now…now he just look vulnerable; he _was_ vulnerable. She made a move to say something, but stopped. What was there to say? _I'm sorry_? That wouldn't help at all. There had to be something she could do. He needed someone, _anyone_. Was there someone she could call? No, that wouldn't do. He'd sent home all that she knew could help. He apparently didn't want them to see him like this. What then? What could she do?

Fed up with staring at his hunched over form, she took careful steps towards him, stopping when she was directly in front of him. Slowly, she knelt down, sitting with her legs tucked under her. She watched him for a few seconds, a frown on her face. Reaching out for him, she gasped when his hand shot out of nowhere and grasped her wrist in mid-air. She waited, not wanting him to recoil from her. Neither moved. What felt like forever, he finally moved his hand up her wrist and laced his fingers through hers.

Her heart lurched when he opened his eyes, all the hurt and the pain he was feeling playing on the surface. She wanted to cry for him, but she needed to be strong. Without another word, she wrapped her arms around him and held him close. Not caring that her favorite shirt was getting wet with his tears, she allowed him to bury his face into her shoulder and continue to cry as she stroked his hair.

Words were not needed or wanted.

His heart wrenching sobs were the only sound that penetrated the quiet apartment around them. Though she tried not to, she couldn't help but cry. Silent tears streamed down her face as she continued to hold the broken hearted male in her arms.

She had been right, he had needed someone…_her_.


	2. Chapter 1

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: you all asked for it, here's chapter one. Now everyone, this story is rated M for a reason. There will be, at least for the first few chapters or so, a _lot_ of sex talk. I'm using words in this story that I don't normally use...even in real life. This is unlike any story I've ever done, probably more darker than _Beautiful Disaster_ especially in Troy's case. Another warning, Troy is a lot cruder that I've ever written him to be. Almost every word that comes out of his mouth, mostly when he's speaking to Gabriella, is about sex. In time, he will mellow out and the sex talk will become less, but for now, this is how he is.**

**Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 1

_Laughter._

_He could hear her laughter._

_He could see her smile._

_He could feel her embrace._

_He could smell her cherry scent._

_Opening his eyes, he was unexpectedly blinded by the bright sunlight shining from above. He squinted, trying to gather his bearings of where he was. Suddenly…_she_ appeared. Her bright smile, her bright eyes; all staring down at him._

"_What are you doing, Troy?"_

_He shrugged. "I don't exactly know."_

_She laughed. The same beautiful laughter that he loved so much._

"_You're funny."_

_Without a word, he sat up and looked around. The place was familiar. He knew it, but he didn't remember _how_ he knew it. She, silently , took a seat beside him and he finally turned his attention back to her._

"_Where are we?"_

"_The park, silly. You know the one we used to come to all the time."_

_He nodded. He did know._

"_What are we doing here?"_

"_You mean…you don't remember?" He shook his head. Her face fell and she pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. "This is our last day together."_

_His heart stopped. Last day? She couldn't mean…? This couldn't be…? He didn't want to believe it. He was reliving this day all over again._

"_Troy."_

"_Hm?"_

"_Promise me something."_

"_Anything, Emma."_

_She looked at him. "Promise me that…one day you'll come for me. Promise me that we'll see each other again."_

_His eyes softened as he looked into her blue eyes. "I promise."_

_She smiled softly. "I love you."_

_He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to him. "I love you, too, little sis."_

His eyes opened.

Darkness surrounded him.

Sighing, he turned over onto his back and stared at the ceiling. He hated that dream, but it was the only thing he had left to cling on. The only memory of his sister he had left. It had been five years since he saw her last; five years since they said 'goodbye' and he missed her.

Loud buzzing broke through the quiet of his room and he reached over to the night stand to grab his cell phone. Reading the ID, he cursed silently before answering.

"Hello?"

"I'm still waiting on my money."

"Morris, so nice to hear…"

"Cut the shit, Bolton, I want my fucking money."

Sighing, he moved into a sitting position. "You'll get it alright. I just…need more time."

"Either you give me the money by six p.m. tomorrow or I'm gonna make you pay with both your hands. I'll break 'em so bad that you won't be able to jack off much less roll a joint."

"I'll have it, alright."

"You better." The line went dead.

He clutched his phone in his hand before throwing it halfway across the room. Running a hand through his hair, he tried desperately to pin point the day where his life went to hell. July 12. Five years prior. The day that he was separated from the only family he had left. Sighing, he pushed back his covers and stood up. He needed a drink and he needed one _bad_.

Walking into his kitchen, he opened his fridge and fished for the first beer he could find. Unfortunately, that first was also his last. Cursing, he slammed the door shut and popped open the can, downing half of it in one swig. He leant against his refrigerator and stared off into space. He needed to find a way to pay back his debts before he wasn't able to use his hands anymore. He could get a job, but there's no way he could make the money he needed in less than thirty-six hours.

Suddenly, he remembered something. His parents had set up a trust fund for him and he could access that money when he was…twenty one…which was in a month. Groaning, he downed the rest of the can before throwing it away. He needed to go talk to the bank that was holding his parents' money for him. But first, he needed to take a shower.

/0\

"What do you mean I can't have it?"

"You aren't allowed to touch the money until you turn twenty-one."

"But it's _my_ money."

"No, it's your parents' money. It won't be yours until May 23rd."

"My parents are dead. They don't care if I get it a month early."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Bolton, but we cannot give you any piece of it until May 23rd."

He stood, knocking the chair backwards, and pushed the contents of the banker's desk off and onto the floor. It wasn't long before security came to escort him out. He shrugged off the guard's hand and walked towards the exit, the guard following closely behind.

Once back onto the streets of Los Angeles, he looked around, wondering what he was going to do now. He still didn't have the money he needed. Sighing, he began to walk down the sidewalk, pulling out a cigarette along the way. He was glad that when he wanted to ease his nicotine craving, he could just go in a store and buy a pack instead of trying to find someone who could sell it to him. It was one less thing he had to worry about paying off.

He had one more trick he could try, but he wasn't sure if it would work. His feet led him to the front door of a bar and he walked inside. He quickly sought out the person he was looking for, an African American male with short curly hair. Lips quirking, he walked over to the counter and took a seat on one of the stools.

"Chad, my man."

The man looked up, his eyes darkening. "What do you want, Troy?"

"Nothing. Why would you think I would want something?"

"Because you only come to me when you need something."

"You're paranoid." Chad wasn't swayed. Troy sighed and dropped his gaze to the counter. "Alright, you're right. I do need something."

"What is it this time?" he asked, a bored tone in his voice.

"Eight hundred dollars."

His brown eyes widened. "Eight hundred…what, the fuck, do you need eight hundred dollars for?"

"Morris."

He didn't need to say more for Chad to know what he was talking about. Two years ago, when Troy first moved to Los Angeles, he met Chad through a friend of a friend and they had become close buddies. There were many a times when they would smoke weed together or get drunk off their asses. Morris was their supplier. He provided them with both the marijuana and the booze along with, on occasion, a nice woman to have a go with.

Neither had been into the hard drugs, not until a year and a half ago when Troy had gotten kicked out of UCLA. After that, Troy started indulging into cocaine, snorting every chance he got. Chad refused to get into it and, after awhile, they began to drift away. Chad went to rehab and became clean, while Troy just fell further.

"I wish I could help you, but I don't have that kind of money."

"Come on, Chad. Can't you help out a friend?"

"Look, it's your fault you got into this shit so don't try and guilt me into it. I've been clean for six months now and I refused to get involved with your issues."

"But…"

"The answer is 'no'."

Troy glared. "Fine. Be like that. Be the punk ass weak pussy that I always knew you were."

Chad wanted to retort, but he knew Troy. He knew he was just saying it to make him angry and he wasn't looking for a fight…no matter how bad he wanted to beat the shit out of his ex-best friend. Troy stood and left, now out of options.

/0\

The club scene wasn't usually his thing, but he needed some kind of distraction. Leaning against the bar, he stared at the numerous girls on the dance floor. His lust was building as he watched them all dance to the music. They were mostly little rich kids; girls that could get their daddies to do anything they wanted with a bat of their eyelashes. He wondered which one could he get to jump in bed with him. He needed a good fuck and he'd heard that rich girls were one of the best. They acted innocent to please their fathers, but they knew what they were doing.

His eyes finally landed on a brunette dancing in the middle of the floor with two other girls. Unable to look away, he continued to stare. He wasn't sure if she noticed him, but his dick jumped in his pants when he noticed that she was making her way towards him. She didn't even acknowledge his presence, only leaning over the bar to order a drink. His blue eyes danced over her form, tracing the line of her ass.

"You know, staring is rude," she said.

He blinked once, not realizing she had noticed him. Regaining his composure, he smirked and turned around, leaning against the bar beside her.

"Really? I didn't know."

She turned her head. "It figures someone like you would have no formal training."

"Someone like me?"

"Yes. Someone of lower breeding."

"You make it seem like I'm a dog."

"You are."

"Well, if I'm a dog, then you _must_ be a bitch."

She grinned.

No words were spoken and he took that chance to look her over. Troy's eyes drifted over her face, the only part of her body he could see, though he did enjoy the view of her toned legs. Her face was heart-shaped, bringing more of a beauty to her. Her cheek bones were well-defined and high, picking up every time her lips curled upward. Her eyes were almond shaped and the color dark chocolate, but seemed to brighten in the light. Her hair was jet black and fell just below her shoulders. Her lips were his favorite part of her. They were full and pink. He could only imagine what they tasted like. Finally, her drink arrived and she turned to him, giving him a great view of her C-cup cleavage and his eyes drifted downward, the male part of his brain unable to resist doing so.

"How about you make me _your_ bitch?" she asked before downing her drink slowly, letting drops of the alcohol slid down the sides of her mouth and onto her throat.

When she placed the empty glass down, he walked closer to her and licked the remnants off her neck and mouth, kissing her sensually. He wanted her and wanted her bad. It took all his control to not tear off her clothing and fuck her right then and there.

"Is that a suggestion?" he whispered against her lips.

She shook her head. "It's an offer."

He smirked. "Then I'll take it."


	3. Chapter 2

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: I wrote this over. Why? Because an anonymous reviewer left me a review that had really made me rethink this chapter. So, thank you, whoever you were, for that review. I'm not sure if this is what you wanted, but it makes me feel a bit better about a chapter that I wasn't too sure about in the first place. I've left out somethings that I had in the original chapter and I've changed somethings. The things that I left out will be readmitted into the story later on, but the things I've changed, I changed because I found they fit better with what I want for this story. I hope you guys like this revision. Also, I'm sorry for any grammer mistakes. I didn't give this version to my beta to look over since I just wrote it in like two hours. If you guys find any, please feel free to point it out to me.**

**Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 2

_She woke up alone and sore with a splitting headache on the rise. Lifting herself into the sitting position, she looked around the strange room. This wasn't her bedroom. She looked down at herself, relieved that she was still fully clothed. She moved to stand, but the pain in between her legs wouldn't let her._

_Confusion swept over her._

_What had happened last night?_

_She remembered drinking…heavily. Usually drinking led to things she couldn't remember straight, but she would eventually. She remembered this guy…Mason, she thought was his name. He chatted her up like they were old friends, then suggested they go upstairs to talk more privately. She knew what he wanted; she wasn't stupid. Too drunk and horny to resist, she followed him._

_They talked for a bit, then the talking turned into kissing and the kissing into touching until finally clothes were shed—at least she thought they had been—and animal instinct took over._

_Gasping, she realized that she had completely lost all of her control and let some guy she barely knew take her virginity. She'd never been the type of girl to cherish much, but her virginity was the only thing she had._

_Biting her lip, she refused to cry. She would not cry over a deed that was done. She was no longer a virgin and she just had to deal with it. It was just another thing she'd lost in the haze that was her life._

/0\

Once upon a time, little Gabriella Montez had been a happy child; a child without worries, a child with loving parents. But, one day, that ended. In the span of five minutes, her world was shattered. She was left broken and alone. Worries turned into fears and the loving parents that she knew became just another memory.

Turning thirteen was supposed to be a milestone in a child's life. It marked a new beginning; the beginning of adolescence, the beginning of the journey towards finding oneself. For Gabriella, thirteen marked the start of her world changing for the worse.

Unsure of how to deal with the changes, she rebelled; finding it the only option. By the time she was sixteen, Gabriella was already an avid drinker. It wasn't as if she'd had someone breathing down her back like most teenagers. Her father was too busy to care and her mother…her mother had other, more important things to worry about. She drank to rid herself of the loneliness; drank to make herself feel better.

Six months into her sixteenth year of life, her mother left her alone with her uncaring father. She resented the woman who held her in her womb for nine months for doing such a thing. It was unfair.

Days dragged on. Life got worse.

Relations with her father was non-existent. She only spoke to him when he decided it was necessary—which was only when he thought her behavior affected his social appearance. He treated her like she was someone else; not his flesh and blood.

On the eve of her seventeenth birthday, Gabriella's life took another turn for the worse.

Left shattered and afraid, she vowed to stop making bad decisions and to try to move on with her life. She knew she had to take it one step at a time and that it wouldn't be easy, but she was determined to get through it.

/0\

"You wanted to see me, Daddy," she said as she stood in the doorway of her father's study.

"Yes, please, sit."

Reluctantly, she stepped inside and took a seat in front of his desk. She hated the room. It reminded her too much of a shrink's office. She spent many a-days inside of a psychiatrist's office. It had been part of her road to a better life; better existence.

"You know Maximilian Mercer, do you not?"

She nodded slightly. She didn't, in fact. She knew _of_ him, but not _about_ him.

"Somewhat."

"His father proposed the greatest idea to me today. As you know, I've been trying to expand the company; make it bigger. Tobias Mercer has been in the oil business since he was a small child. He knows more about it than I. His company has been in his family for generations."

Gabriella tried hard to listen to whatever it was that he was saying, but after years of learning to ignore him, she'd gotten good at it. She could tune him out on command; learning to nod and shake her head whenever deemed necessary.

"Anyway, he thought that it would be in my best interest, as well as his, that we merge the two companies. Being that we are the biggest in the world, it would only be right."

"And what does this have to do with me and Maximilian?"

"Usually, a simple business merger would have been enough to suffice, but Tobias doesn't see it that way. Being that his company is family owned, he wants to keep it that way and the only way to do that is to have Maximilian marry you."

"Marry me? But…I'm only twenty."

"And Maximilian is twenty-four. In order for him to inherit the company, he must marry before he turns twenty-five, which is why you two will wed on his birthday."

"But he hasn't asked me…and I haven't even said 'yes' to him."

"No need to, I've already agreed to it for you."

"What? You can't do that!"

"Can't I?"

"No, you can't. I'm not some doll you can just give away. I have rights, you know."

"Yes, well, if you like living in the lap of luxury, you will do this."

"Or what?"

"Or I'll disown and disinherit you."

She gasped. "You wouldn't."

"I would. So, you have two options; marry Maximilian in a year's time, or you can kiss your inheritance goodbye."

She stood and left. She would not let him see her cry; not when he did not deserve the pleasure.

With a heavy decision weighing her down, she made her way out to the garden. She remembered days spent in this small paradise that her mother had started with her own two hands. The garden had started out with only two rose bushes and a couple of sunflowers, but had grown from there. It now carried everything from roses to lilies. Walking towards the pond that sat in the middle, she took a seat and stared down at the water.

"_Mama, what are those?"_

_Being only eight years old, Gabriella was still curious about things. She was always willing to learn and increase her knowledge about the world. She had been extremely curious about the pink and white flowers that were floating above the surface of the water._

"_Those, Mija, are Lotus flowers. Those are my favorite flower in the entire world."_

"_Why?"_

"_Well, because they symbolize strength and beauty. You see, these flowers are born beneath the mud of the pond and, when they are ready to bloom, they rise up, break the surface, and open to the world to show off their beauty."_

_Gabriella stared at the flowers for a few seconds before smiling. "I think they're my favorite, too."_

_Her mother smiled and brought her closer. "I'm glad."_

A single tear slid down her face and fell into the still pond, disturbing it. As much as it hurt when she left, Gabriella missed her mother. She missed her kisses, her hugs, her smell. Her mother always smelled like freshly baked gingerbread cookies. Gabriella never understood why, but she never complained.

Life hadn't been easy since her mother left her alone.

Life hadn't seemed to be getting any better either, no matter how much Gabriella willed it.

Sighing, she closed her eyes and forced the troubled emotions from her. She had other things to worry about; her impending marriage to a guy she'd only seen pictures of and her one night stand with a guy who'd stolen something very important to her.

Gabriella awoke that morning, with a splitting headache from the major hangover, to find that the guy she'd come home with was no longer there and her grandmother's diamond ring was missing. It was a family heirloom that had been passed down through her mother's side. Her ancestors had been a Spanish conquistador and an American Indian. The ring was a symbol of their love; a love that was never supposed to happen. It was so special to her, that the only time she ever took it off was when she took a bath or shower—even then, she would attach it to a chain and place it around her neck.

She also found that her wallet had gone missing. Her life was in that small piece of leather bound together by thread and zippers. She had her credit cards, her driver's license, and a picture of her mother in there. Gabriella had gone home with a few deadbeats who bolted in the middle of the night, but she'd never had a thief in her bed. She guess she should be lucky that he hadn't strangled her during the course of the night.

/0\

Returning home, she went straight up to her two story condo and collapsed on her couch. Everything was still and quiet. Her only neighbors lived a floor down from her. She never met them and they never met her. She felt lonely living there, but the day she turned eighteen, she moved out of her father's house and got a place of her own. Living by herself was better than living with a ghost.

The phone began to ring, but she ignored it. She wasn't in the mood to speak to anyone.

"Gabriella, it's Sharpay. Look, I know you're home." Silence. She thought she hung up. "Stop sitting on your ass and come pick up the phone."

Sighing, she stood and walked over to her cordless, pressing talk. "Hello?"

"_Bout time you picked up the damn phone."_

"What do you want, Shar?"

"_Is it wrong to call my best friend and see how she's doing?"_

"I'm guessing you already know."

"_Yeah. My Dad told me today. I can't believe he's making you do this."_

"Neither can I, but he is." She walked into her kitchen and took a bottle of water from out of her fridge. "I, either, marry Maximilian on his next birthday, or he cuts me off."

"_Harsh. So glad my Father isn't into selling my soul for his company."_

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Oh, yes, Shar, it is wonderful to be you," she said, sarcasm dripping over her words.

"_Sorry."_

"It's fine."

"_So, bitch, what did you do without me yesterday?"_

"Got drunk. You know, the usual."

"_Anything else?"_

Gabriella really didn't want to tell her best friend that she'd gotten wasted and boned some guy who ended up robbing her. She would never hear the end of it.

The friendship between Sharpay Evans and Gabriella Montez hadn't always been as such. At one point in their twenty year history, they'd hated each other. They'd been in the same upper class boarding school since Pre-K and hadn't spoken once until the fifth grade. It was then that they'd gotten into a fight over whose father was the richest. As they became older, the fights changed subjects. Sixth grade it was over who had the best hair. Seventh grade—when puberty was in full bloom—it was who had the biggest breasts. Eighth grade it was who was liked the best. Ninth grade it was who did the boys want most. By sophomore year, they found their fights to be stupid and childish. They dropped their hatred towards one another and became the closest of friends, despite Gabriella's rebellious behavior.

"Nope. Nothing else."

"_I know you're keeping something from me, Gabriella Marie Montez, but I will let it slide…for now."_ Gabriella could hear a distinctive male voice on the other end, followed by her best friend's feminine one. _"Ugh. Ryan says 'hi'."_

"Um…tell him I said 'hi' back."

She heard Sharpay repeat the message, followed by what sounded like 'no, you may not talk to her' before she came back on the phone. _"Gabs, I gotta go. Ryan's bugging me."_

She laughed. "Alright. I'll see you later."

"_Later, babe."_

Ending the call, Gabriella laid back across her couch and stared at the ceiling. She wondered where the bastard that stole her stuff was at that moment. She hoped that he never saw her again, because the minute she laid eyes on him, she would slap him so hard his mother would feel it.

**A/N: If you haven't figured it out, the first part is a memory of Gabriella losing her virginity. I know it seems out of place, but it isn't. The importance of it will come into play later in the story.**


	4. Chapter 3

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: So, thank you to those who reviewed last chapter, though I know the ones that reviewed before I made the changes wasn't able to review a second time for some odd reason.**

**Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 3

When Troy was fourteen, he stole his first car and took it for a joy ride. He'd gotten half way to Santa Fe, before the cops pulled him over. He'd been sentenced to six months in Albuquerque's Juvenile Detention Center. Because of this, the social workers threatened to split him and his sister up if he didn't shape up. He promised them he would—promised he would do better—but they were all empty. Initially, he kept away from things that would place him in jail and away from his sister, but the troublemaker inside of him would not be quelled.

He continued to steal; small stuff. He stole purses and wallets and whatever else he could get his hands on. Once, he'd stolen a woman's bracelet right off her wrist. Emma had seen the gold trinket and asked him where he got it from. He told her that it didn't matter cause it was for her. She smiled, all questions of its origin leaving her mind as he placed it around her small wrist. She'd been ten at the time, still too innocent to find out that her brother was a thief.

Walking out of that woman's apartment that morning with her wallet in one pocket and her diamond ring in the other, it had been like any other time he'd stolen anything, except there was no little sister to give the ring to. This ring was serving a different purpose and that was to save himself from having to never be able to use his hands ever again.

Knocking on the solid black door, Troy waited until someone answered while keeping watch of his surroundings at all times. He hadn't thought that Los Angeles had a dark side until he arrived here two years ago with the clothes on his back and twenty dollars in his pocket.

The door opening caught his attention. He turned and saw the tall figure lingering in the doorway.

"You're early."

"Nice to see you, too, Liev."

"Do you have his money?"

"Do you really think I would have come if I didn't? I'm not that stupid."

The taller male smirked. "No. You're smarter than I thought you were."

"I'm insulted."

Troy pushed past Liev and headed down the narrow hallway towards Morris' office. Morris' place was like one of those speakeasies from the 1930s. It looked like a regular warehouse from the outside, but once you took a step inside, you were in a different world. Doors adorned both sides of the hallway, each leading to a different room. In these rooms, you could pick your daily comfort of booze, women and drugs—sometimes all three. Some rooms were as big as an average sized living room and others were the size of an average size master bedroom(beds included).

At the end of the hallway was Morris' office, though one could hardly call it an office. It looked more like a rather large living room; one fit with its own bar.

He didn't bother to continue through the door. Liev was the only one who was allowed to let visitors in. If Troy came through the door before him, he might end up with a bullet in his skull.

"Liev, what do you have for me?" he heard Morris say before the door opened fully to reveal him. "Ah! Troy! So nice to see you here. And you're early."

Troy's blue eyes glanced around the room. He'd only been in there once and that was when he first started using cocaine. That was the day that he figured out that he wasn't allowed in this room unless necessary.

"Yeah, I thought 'why not get this over with'."

His eyes lingered on the half naked girls sitting on the bar. They stared back at him, their eyes brandishing the 'come hither' look. He was tempted, but he had more important things to attend to. Turning his attention back to Morris, he noticed the impatient look on the man's chubby face. Morris wasn't as tall as Troy, but his sheer size was intimidating enough. He was stocky and could injure someone if he needed, though he'd rather leave that to his goons.

"So, what do you have for me?"

"Well, I don't have your money, but I do have something just as good."

"Just as good? I want my fucking money, Bolton, not something 'just as good'."

The men standing around began to come closer to Troy, but he held his hands up, wanting them to hear him out before they did anything.

"Look," He pulled out the diamond ring and placed it on Morris' desk, "this here is a genuine diamond. It, and the ring itself, are hundreds of years old. I got it all appraised before I came here and it's worth a good twenty grand."

Morris picked up the ring and fingered it. He was weighing his options; either break off Troy's hands for not bringing him what he wanted or let him keep his hands and keep the ring for himself. Grinning, he looked up at Troy.

"Good work, Bolton. I expected this much from my best customer."

"Uh…thanks, I guess."

"You may leave now."

"Wait. Do you think I could…you know…get some more. I'm running low."

Morris sighed and waved to one of his cronies. A bulky male, by the name of Leon, walked up to him and handed him a baggie full of white powder.

"Thanks."

Sticking the bag in his pocket, he left. He breathed easy when he returned to the streets of L.A., now knowing he wouldn't have to worry about getting his hands chopped off. He had them for another day.

/0\

Was it possible to exist without really…_existing_?

That was a question that Troy constantly asked himself. He knew he existed. He could feel pain, feel pleasure, but was that all there was to it? Could you exist without a soul? Cause he doubted he had one anymore.

Cigarette between his lips, he silently watched the hoards of families congregate in the park. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and people were taking advantage of it. The last few days had been a bit on the chilly side for Southern California and, now that it had warmed up, parents wasted no time in getting their kids out the house.

To anyone else, Troy looked like a pedophile trying to snatch his next victim, but if they were able to see inside his mind, they would see that he was in a different time; a different place. Lost in the memories of his younger days when his parents would take him and Emma to the park. Emma always wanted to do everything her older brother did, but she was always too young.

A ball rolled up to him and hit him, softly, in the leg, knocking him from his memories. He looked down and glanced at the ball, before looking up and seeing the small child. The little girl was staring back at him, her green eyes shining in the sunlight. He smiled softly and picked up the red sphere.

"Here you go," he said, handing it to her.

She smiled and took it from him. "Thank you, Mister."

"You're welcome."

With a small wave, she skipped away, ball in hand. Troy watched her go. He'd always liked children, but never knew why. Before his life had completely gone off the deep end, he'd imagined himself as a father, raising a little girl who looked much like him. Since he did not have a candidate for the mother, her looks could only stem from his own. As his life continued downhill, his dreams of having a daughter of his own had gone with it.

There would be no way that anyone would let him raise a child if they knew what kind of person he was. Sex, drugs and booze. That was his life. Besides, it wasn't as if any right-minded woman would want someone as fucked up as he was.

Blowing the smoke through his nose, Troy snuffed out what was left of his cigarette and threw it away. He had to get away from this; from the happy energy. He didn't deserve to be around families; not when the only one left of his own was somewhere miles away, probably wondering when her big brother was going to come get her.

He dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small locket. Flicking it open, he looked down at the picture of Emma, the last thing he had to remember her by.

_One day, Emma. When everything is right, I'll come and get you. We'll be together again; you'll see._

/0\

Gabriella sighed as the cool ocean air whipped around her. The beach was a place that she went to clear her head. She loved the feel of the sand beneath her feet, despite the fact that it was annoying trying to get the grains from in between her toes.

She loved the beach, but hated the water. She couldn't swim. Her mother tried once when she was younger to teach her how to, but it only resulted in Gabriella nearly drowning. It had been a frightening experience and from then on, she tended to stay clear of water.

The sun was on the verge of setting and the air was getting cooler by the second. Turning on her heel, she headed back to solid concrete where her limo waited for her. Although she liked getting driven around, sometimes driving herself was just as nice, but until she found the guy who stole her wallet, she couldn't risk it. She was a safe driver, but you never knew what could happen.

"Where to Miss Montez?" her chauffer asked as he helped her into the car.

"Evergreen Cemetery, Thomas."

He nodded and closed the door. When the car began to move, she turned to stare out at the passing scenery. Minutes later, the car stopped and the door opened. She hated cemeteries; had since her grandmother died when she was nine. But she needed to be here. Gathering up all her courage, she walked up the small hill that led to plots belonging to her family. She passed her paternal grandmother, who died when she was only a few months old, then her paternal grandfather, who passed away when she was four. Her maternal grandparents were buried somewhere in the vast state of New Jersey. She finally came to the headstone she was looking for and knelt before it.

_Here lies a beautiful woman._

That's all the headstone read.

There was no name.

Her father refused to place a name on it. He refused to admit that his wife had left him. It was the one thing that Gabriella had in common with him; neither could believe that this woman would leave them willingly.

"Mother," she started, but didn't know where to go after that.

What was she supposed to say? Should she apologize for not visiting as often as she could? Why should she visit? Her mother left her alone with no one else to love her the way only a mother could. She left her to deal with the stone wall that was her father; unfeeling, uncaring. There were only two people her father ever cared for and neither of them were Gabriella.

"I don't know if you heard but…I'm getting married. I know I don't have a ring on my finger, but I'm certain I will in no time. His name's Maximilian and…well…that's all I really know about him. Daddy says his company's future depends on my marriage to Maximilian." She stayed quiet. Silent tears fell from her eyes. "What am I gonna do, Mommy? I don't want to marry him, but if I don't then Daddy will cut me off. Is it worth sacrificing my own happiness to gain Daddy's approval? You know that's all I've ever wanted from him."

She sat there for a few minutes, hoping that maybe her mother would speak to her somehow and give her the answers she so desperately wanted. Sighing, she stood and walked back towards the limo, leaving the cemetery still clueless as to what she should do.


	5. Chapter 4

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: thank you for the reviews.**

**Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, drug use, language, sex

Chapter 4

Eyes distant.

Mind in a haze.

Troy drifted in between memories of his precious little sister. He could clearly hear her laughter, but he was alone. He could see her smile, but she was miles away. It was too much for him. Leaning forward, he grabbed the rolled up piece of paper he used as a sort of straw and inhaled one line of white powder that sat on the table in front of him. He waited until it took hold and pushed out the memories before sitting back against the beat-up old couch.

Rapid knocking reached his ears, but he paid it no attention. He thought that it was all just a figment of his imagination. As he begun to descend from his high, the knocks became clearer. Sighing, he stood and went to answer the person on the other side.

"Mr. Brahman? What are you…?"

The short, dark-skinned male took notice of Troy's bloodshot eyes and looked inside. His nose flared when he saw the cocaine sitting on the poor excuse of a coffee table.

"I want you out!" he said, his thick Indian accent coming off strong.

"What? But I didn't…"

"You haven't paid me rent in three months. I've gotten complaints from your neighbors about smells coming from _your_ apartment. I will not have drugs in my building. I want you to get your shit and get out."

"But where am I supposed to go?"

"Don't know, don't care."

"Can I at least get a few days to find a place?"

"You have until the end of the week. If you are not gone by then, I will call the police and report your illegal drug use."

Troy waited until the superintendent of the building retreated down the stairs before going back inside his apartment. He closed the door and leant against it. What was he going to do? If he couldn't pay rent here, there was no way he could pay rent any place else, at least not until he got his inheritance in another three weeks.

Gathering all that he found important to him, he stuffed it all in a duffel bag and headed for the door. His eyes caught sight of the wallet belonging to the brunette he stole from and he decided it would be best to return it to her. It's not like there was anything in there. She was smart. She only kept one credit card in there, no money. There was no way he could pass as her, so it was impossible for him to buy anything with it. Opening it, he searched for something that would tell him where to find her since he hadn't been paying attention to where she lived. He found her driver's license and scanned over her information. Stashing the wallet in his pocket, he left the apartment, leaving the keys on the coffee table.

/0\

Stepping out of the limo, Gabriella thanked her chauffer and relieved him for the night. After a long and drought out conversation with her father, all she wanted to do was go upstairs and crash. Walking into her building, she wasn't expecting to see someone sitting on one of the two couches in the lobby. Usually no one sat there because it was mainly just for show.

"Who is that?" she asked the doorman.

He shrugged. "He didn't give his name, but he did say he was looking for you, Ms. Montez."

"Me? Why would he be looking for me?"

"I didn't ask."

Turning her eyes to the guy sitting on the couch, she got the strange feeling like she'd seen him before. Slowly, she walked up to him, careful not to alert him to her presence just yet. She wanted to see if she could figure out who he was and if he was a threat. Still unable to pin point where she knew him from, she decided to just ask.

"Excuse me."

He looked up and smirked and, suddenly, Gabriella felt herself being thrown into a recent memory. She did know him. He was the one who'd stolen her wallet. He was the one who'd stolen her grandmother's ring.

"You!"

"Look, I can explain about…"

He wasn't able to get another word out. Her hand had connected with his cheek before he even realized what she was going to do. He knew he probably deserved that, but that didn't mean he wasn't upset about the fact that she just slapped him.

"Mother…" He stopped himself. "Why did you do that?"

"Because you robbed me! You stole my wallet and you stole my grandmother's ring and I want them both back or I'm calling the police."

"If you would have just let me explain myself, I would have told you that I came here to return your wallet to you." He reached into his pocket and pulled it out, handing it to her. "I'm sorry that I took it, but I needed money."

She snatched it out of his hand and made sure everything that was in there before was still there. Seeing everything she needed to, she looked at him, still suspicious and untrusting.

"And my ring?"

He knew it was time to lie. There was no way he could tell her that he traded the ring to pay off his drug debts, not when it apparently meant a lot to her.

"What ring?"

"My grandmother's diamond ring. I know you took it."

"I can assure you, I didn't take it."

"You had to have. I never take it off."

"Look, I don't even remember you wearing it when we were at the club, much less remember you wearing it while we were fucking. Are you sure someone you were dancing with that night took it off you?"

She shook her head. "I would remember if someone did."

"You sure? Cause you were pretty drunk that night."

"No one took it off of me, alright!"

"Okay. Okay. No need to be hostile." She glared at him. "Um…maybe you lost it. Maybe it slipped off your finger and you dropped it somewhere."

All color drained from her face. That was, indeed, a possibility. It had happened once before when she was in the shower. Luckily, she'd caught it before it could go down the drain. That was the start of when she started wearing it around her neck. It was a bit big on her finger, but she always thought that she'd grown into it once it stopped slipping off. Apparently not. She groaned and took a seat on the opposite couch.

"How could I lose it?"

Troy tried not to smirk at the victory he'd won in convincing the brunette that he hadn't stolen her ring. He sat down and put on a sympathetic face.

"It must have meant a lot to you."

"It did," she said with a nod of her head. "It's been in the family since the fifteen hundreds. My Dad is gonna kill me when he finds out I lost it." She sighed. "As if he doesn't already hate me," she mumbled, not meaning for him to hear, but he did.

Confusion flowed through him at the revelation. "I'm sure he'll forgive you. Isn't that what fathers are supposed to do, forgive their daughters when they mess up?"

She laughed, bitterly. "If only you knew my Dad."

Guilt filled his veins. It was apparent by the way she spoke of him that she did not get along with her father; he, most likely, just made it worse. He wished he could tell her the truth, but then that would just end with him getting yelled at and probably arrested. First rule of survival: keep yourself before others.

"Look, I'm sorry about you ring. I wish I knew what I could do to help you find it, but…"

She smiled sadly and shook her head. "It's fine. Really. I'm sorry for accusing you of taking it."

"No harm done." He stood. "Well, I gotta go. Got someplace I need to be."

"Um…thanks again."

He shrugged before smirking. "Nice seeing you again, Gabriella."

"How did you…?"

"Your driver's license."

"Oh."

He chuckled. "See you around."

/0\

There was only one place Troy could go. It was the only place he could think of, but there was no guarantee that he would be able to stay. Knocking on the wooden door, he prayed that someone was home.

"What, the fuck, do you want?"

"Chad, please, listen to me. I got evicted from my apartment and I need some place to stay."

Chad leant against the door frame. "And I was the only one you could think of?"

"Of course."

"Morris couldn't be of any help?"

"You know him. If I even thought about asking him for help, he'd charge me and I don't have the money at the moment."

"Troy, as much as I'd _love_ to help you," Chad said with sarcasm dripping through every word, "I can't."

"Chad, please, I…"

"Daddy." Both men turned their attention to a little girl standing behind a wall. "Daddy, who's that?"

"No one, sweetheart. Go back to bed."

"But there's a monster in my closet."

"Then go to my room. I'll be there in a little while."

"Okay." She took one more look at Troy before bounding in the opposite direction.

"You…you have a daughter? Since when?"

"I've always had one, but I just never saw her. Her mom died a couple of months ago. Her parents thought it was only right that I raise our daughter, but they come visit every once in a while to make sure I'm doing my job."

"Is…is she why you got clean?"

"Yeah."

"What's her name?"

"Destiny."

"She's beautiful, man."

"Thanks." Chad sighed. "Troy, I know once upon a time we were the best of friends, but things have changed…_you_ have changed…and with Destiny here, I just can't risk her being exposed to the crap that you put yourself through. I won't let her see the evils of the world while she's still young."

Troy nodded, fully understanding. "I know how you feel Chad. I can't blame you for wanting to protect her and keep her innocent for as long as you can."

Chad knew nothing of Troy's past. They may have been close friends, but Troy was determined to keep his past in his past. So Chad was clueless to the fact that Troy really did understand his protective nature towards his daughter. He had been that way towards Emma; protecting her from knowing the full extent of their parents' death, protecting her from knowing how much her brother had changed from that one event.

"Look, I'll help you out in any other way, but this is one thing I can't help you with."

"Thanks, Chad. I really appreciate it."

Chad smiled before holding up a finger to signify 'give me one minute' and disappeared inside his apartment. Troy stood there for a few seconds before Chad came back, a few twenties in his hand.

"Here. Go find a hotel or something."

"You know this isn't going pay for more than a day, right?"

"I'm aware of that, but there's nothing more I can do. Rent's due so I really can't give you much."

Troy took the money and sighed. "It's fine. Uh…thanks."

"You're welcome."


	6. Chapter 5

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: thanks for the reviews, though I think I'm losing people. Is it because I'm updating too fast? Or is it just the story in general?**

**Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 5

As a young girl, Gabriella had always believed in fairy tales. Her mother used to read her stories of princesses and princes and how they would meet, fall in love and live happily ever after. Of course, fairy tales were just that: tales. There was no such thing as love at first sight. Like at first sight was more plausible, _chemistry_ was more plausible, but never the illusion that was created to make little girls believe that love was that easy. As she grew, the stories of Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty became her least favorite. She begun to favor that of Beauty and the Beast. That story made more sense and reflected the reality of love; it had to be worked at.

That was why Gabriella made no objections when Maximilian went down on one knee in front of both their families—to keep with tradition even though the engagement was already agreed on—she thought that she could make this work and maybe, one day, she would learn to love him. She said 'yes' as it was expected of her and let him slide the 5 carat diamond ring onto her finger.

They say diamonds are a girl's best friend.

Well, at that moment, all Gabriella wanted to do was chuck that diamond against the nearest wall. But she kept her cool, stayed calm. She would be the good daughter that her father wanted. After dinner, Georgia Mercer suggested that the two take a walk in the garden while the parents talked about the plans for the wedding.

Maximilian was a quiet man and barely talked at all during dinner. She wondered if maybe she wasn't the only one being forced into this. Walking beside him, hands clasped in front of her, she glanced over at him.

"It's beautiful tonight," she said, trying to make conversation.

"It is."

"The moon looks…"

"Forgive me for saying this, Gabriella, but do you mind if we not talked?"

"Yeah…okay."

She bit her lip as they continued to walk around her mother's garden. Coming to the pond, they took a seat on the bench and stayed quiet. Maximilian stared ahead while Gabriella stared into the water.

"Gabriella, may I ask you something?"

"Um…sure."

He turned to her, catching her attention in his hazel-green eyes. "Why are you agreeing to marrying me?"

"I don't know."

"I know that's a lie. Just give me the straight truth."

"Because of my Dad," she said, turning her eyes back to the pond. "Because if I don't, he'll cut me off."

He went back to staring at nothing. Minutes went by before either of them moved or said anything. He placed his hand on her knee and she looked at him.

"I'll try to make you happy, Gabriella."

She smiled sadly. He was being forced into this just as much as she was. He was doing this for the sake of his father's tradition, she was doing this for the sake of not wanting to be disowned.

/0\

"Oh, shit! Oh, shit, yeah. Fuck me harder!"

Digging his fingers into the blonde's porcelain skin, making sure there would be bruises, Troy continuously buried his member deep inside of her. All his anger and frustration over the day's events were being poured into pounding the prostitute. He didn't care that he was most likely hurting her, all he cared about was fucking her until he felt satisfied; until he felt like all of his anger was no more.

For Troy, sex was used to release anger, frustration and stress, drugs was used to help him get through a depressive bout and booze…well that was for every day as was his nicotine craving. He was angry that his landlord kicked him out of his apartment, he was frustrated that he had no place else to stay and his stress was a result of both.

"God, Troy, don't stop."

He wasn't planning on it.

Closing his eyes, he let all of his frustration, his anger, his stress and focused on getting to that point of release. He was so close, he could feel it. Picking up his pace, he pushed himself to reach the end, but he couldn't seem to get there. His eyes opened and he looked down at the small body of the blonde prostitute. His mind flashed back to a recent time and place; one where the girl was different. Her skin was darker, but not by much, and she had a tattoo on the place just above where her ass started. He didn't know what it was. He had been too busy boning her to even see the outline of it. All he knew was that it was there.

Suddenly, the pressure that had been building was gone. Her loud moans were the only sounds to reach his ears, but if it weren't for the vice grip her walls had on him, he wouldn't have known she had an orgasm. He slowed his pace, riding her out a little longer, before opening his eyes and pulling out. Depositing his condom in the nearest trashcan, he put himself back in his pants and stepped away from the panting woman.

"My. _God_." She turned and faced him, her eyes still glazed over. "Troy…that was the best fuck I've ever had," she said with her Southern drawl.

He smirked, loving the feeling of his ego being stroked.

"Thanks. I try."

"You try?" She laughed, breathily. "Sugar, there ain't no need for you to try when you already have it down."

"Daisy, you spoil me."

"Can't help it when I'm being pounded by that thing," she said, eyes going towards his crotch.

"How much do I owe you?"

"Two hundred."

"Two hundred?" His eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "Since when has it been two hundred?"

"It's always been two hundred, Sugar, especially after a fucking like that."

He groaned. "I don't have that much."

"How much do you have?"

"One fifty, but I need it to get a hotel room for the night."

"Hotel room? I thought you had an apartment?"

"I did, until my landlord evicted me." He pulled out the money Chad gave him. "Here. I'll give you the other fifty when I have it."

"Uh-uh, Sugar, you need it more than I do. Keep it."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You can pay me back when you're in a better situation."

"Thanks, Dase. You know you're the greatest right?"

"Of course I do. Now, if you ever want that beautiful cock of yours sucked, feel free to call me. I'll let you get that for free," she said with a wink.

"I'll make sure to call you."

She kissed his cheek. "Now off with you before Morris finds out you didn't pay me."

"Later."

He left Morris' place feeling a little better; a little more relaxed. But as he walked down the side walk, his frustration began to creep back into his mind. He still had no idea what he going to do. He might have had money to maybe spend one night at a hotel, but after that, then what? What was he supposed to do after that?

/0\

Gabriella was exhausted, both mentally and physically. All she wanted to do was take two aspirins for her headache and lie down. Leaning her head against the window of her limousine, she kept her eyes closed and tried to focus on the soothing movements of the car instead of the war going on in her head. When she reopened them, she was met by the sight of a familiar male being thrown out of one of the hotels.

"Thomas, stop the car!"

The vehicle came to an abrupt stop and she got out without waiting for Thomas to open the door. She stared at the brunette male as he got into an altercation with one of the security guards. She knew that it was stupid to get in the middle of it, but she really didn't want the guy getting hurt. Why that was, was a mystery to her.

"Whoa. Hey!" She got in between the two men, stopping the fight before it could become any worse. "What's going on?"

"These…_assholes_ said that I can't get a room without a credit card. What kind of bullshit is that?"

"It's the rules, sir," came the voice of the hotel manager. "We cannot bend them for anyone."

"Oh, yeah? How about I bend my foot up your ass and see if you change your mind?" He lunged at the manager, but the security guard got to him first.

"Stop!" Gabriella yelled and pulled the male in the opposite direction. "Fighting isn't going to solve anything," she said to him. "It's only going to get you arrested." Walking back to the manager, she put on an apologetic smile. "I'm _so_ sorry about him, Mr. Benedict."

"It's fine, Ms. Montez. Though I do not commend your taste in friends, you are always welcome at my hotel."

"Thank you."

"He, however, is not," he said flicking his eyes to the brunette male who was now glaring daggers at him.

"Understandable."

Gabriella waited until Mr. Benedict and the security guard went back inside before turning around, glaring at the male now leaning against her limo.

"What, the hell, is wrong with you?"

"Me? It's not my fault they want everyone to become card carrying drones."

She groaned and rubbed a hand over her face. Her headache was _not_ getting any better.

"Why were you looking for a hotel room anyway? Don't you have an apartment or something?"

"If you must know, I got evicted." He ran a hand through his hair. "I got no place else to go. A friend of mine gave me a hundred fifty for a hotel room, but apparently that's not gonna work around here."

Staring up at him, she cursed herself for being so compassionate towards those who needed help. "Look, maybe…maybe you could stay with me for a while, just until you get yourself back on your feet, but _only _if you promise not to steal from me again."

He nodded, a smirk curling on his face. "Of course, but does that mean we get to share a bed?"

"No."

"Aw, come on."

She glared. "_No_."

He sighed. "Fine."

Reaching for the door of the limousine, she pulled it open before remembering something and turned to him.

"I never got your name."

"Troy," he said with a grin. "Troy Bolton."

Nodding, she smirked slightly. "Nice to meet you, Troy Bolton."

He climbed inside and took in the interior of her limo, something he hadn't gotten a chance to admire the last time he rode it in.

"Nice ride," he said as he closed the door.

"Thanks."

"Never thought it looked like this on the inside."

"Home, Miss?"

"Yes, Thomas." She turned to Troy. "You've seen it before though."

"No, I haven't."

"Yes, you have. This is the only way we got to my apartment that night."

"Yeah…I was too busy getting my cocked sucked to pay attention. Or did you forget about that one little detail from that night?"

She bit her lip. "Actually, I did."

He chuckled. "Well, I didn't. That was the best blow job I've ever gotten."

"What else do you remember from that night?"

He smirked. "A lot. Shall we recreate it?"

"No, I'm good."

"Suit yourself," he said with a shrug and sat back, making himself comfortable.


	7. Chapter 6

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: thank you for the wonderful reviews. To let you in, Gabriella's past will be revealed before Troy's. Why? Because...well, you'll see. Anyone saw the MTV Movie Awards? Of course Twilight(and everyone having to do with it) won all of the categories it was nominated for ::rolls eyes:: but Tom Felton won best villain, which he totally deserved, and MTV was able to get Zac and Vanessa to kiss in public :)**

**Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 6

Troy awoke to the smell of food being cooked; an event that hadn't happened since his parents were alive. He opened his eyes and sat up, smelling the air. His mouth began to water and his stomach began to grumble and he realized that he hadn't had a decent meal in weeks. Throwing his covers off of him, he left the room he'd been given and stepped into the main part of the apartment. He stopped when he saw Gabriella standing over the stove, apparently cooking. As if sensing he was there, she turned and smiled softly.

"Morning," she said.

"Morning." He took a seat at the divide and continued to watch her. "You can cook?"

She nodded. "It's one of the few things my Mother taught me."

"I guess you're not completely useless."

She glared at him. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, it's just…I didn't think rich girls like you were good for anything besides partying and shit."

Turning back to her food, she sighed. "We're not all worthless party girls."

"I see that now."

Placing the finished food on two plates, she walked over to where Troy sat and put one in front of him. Taking a good whiff of the breakfast in front of him, his stomach growled again and he took no time digging in.

"This is really good," he said, his mouth full.

"Thanks, but can you not talk with your mouth full? It's kinda disgusting."

He nodded. "Sorry."

Silence befell the small area between the kitchen and the living room as the two concentrated on eating. Troy glanced up at the female across from him. He hadn't realized how truly beautiful she was until now. The past few times he'd seen her, her face was caked in make-up, but seeing it without it, he thought she really didn't need all that crap on her face. Feeling his eyes on her, she looked up and sent him a questioning look.

"What?"

Smirking. "Nothing. Just imagining you naked."

She rolled her eyes and stood, carrying her plate over to the sink. "How long are you staying again?"

"Hey, you're the one that suggested I stay here, not me."

"I know, but I'd still like to know."

He shrugged. "Two weeks, really. I'm supposed to be coming into some money soon and that's what's gonna get me by until I can find a job."

"Inheritance money?" she asked, turning to face him.

He nodded. "Yeah."

Sighing, she crossed her arms and blew out a tuff of air. "Listen, you can stay here for as long as you like or for as long as I can take you, but there are going to be some ground rules."

Grinning, he stood and walked over to her, going around her to place his plate in the sink. "Do those rules involve me and you stripping down every night and making stains on your bed sheets?"

She laughed sarcastically and pushed him away. "No. First rule: _this_," She gestured to the good five feet of space between them, "is my personal space. You are not allowed to cross into it at any time. Second rule: just because I've opened my home to you, doesn't mean I've opened my bed to you. There will be no sneaking into my room at night while I'm sleeping. Third rule: there will be no 'oops, I did not know you were in the shower' excuses. Got it? There's two bathrooms for a reason." He nodded. "Fourth rule: my television is not the twenty-four hour porn show. You order it, _you_ pay for it. Fifth rule: if, at any time, you find the need to pleasure yourself, make sure you leave no traces. I do _not_ want to find white stains on my floor or my furniture. Sixth rule: you are not allowed to bring strange women here. The only one allowed to have sex in this apartment is me. If you fail to follow these rules, I will castrate you. Understand me?"

"Fully understood."

"Good. Now, I'm going to go take a shower. I have some place I need to be. You can do whatever. If you leave, know this, you will have to wait until I come back in order to get back in the apartment."

"You mean you're not giving me a key?"

"Nope. I don't exactly trust you, so…"

She pushed past him and headed for the stairs that led to her bedroom and the second bathroom.

/0\

If Gabriella could will the ground to open up and swallow her, she would. She hated feeling like she was invisible and that's exactly how the Mercers—minus Maximilian—made her feel. They spoke as if she wasn't in the room. While Maximilian spoke to her, his parents spoke _about_ her. She wanted to scream that she was standing right there.

"Max," his mother said, catching his attention.

"Yes?"

"Why don't you take Gabriella to lunch?" she asked him, acknowledging Gabriella's existence for the first time since she arrived. "You two could get to know each other a little more."

He nodded and turned to Gabriella. "Where would you like to go?"

"It doesn't matter really."

He ushered her out to his limousine and they headed for a small, but private, restaurant on the beach front.

"I love the beach," she said as they sat outside facing the ocean. "The sand more than the water, though."

"Really? I hate it. The sand gets in between my toes every time."

She shrugged. "Doesn't really bother me."

The waitress appeared seconds later, ready to take their orders.

"I'll take the chicken parmesan," Maximilian said.

"Can I just get a Caesar salad?" Gabriella asked.

Nodding, the waitress went back inside and left the two to silence. Gabriella bit her lip, unsure of what to say.

"Where'd you get that?" he asked, referring to the faint scar on her wrist.

He reached out for her arm, wrapping his fingers around her small wrist and turning it over. She pulled her arm back and covered the scar.

"It's nothing. It's just from a bike accident when I was a kid."

"Looks like some accident."

She nodded and left it at that. No, the scar wasn't from an accident. It wasn't even that old. Lying was wrong, she knew that, but she couldn't tell him the truth. The only one that knew, besides her, was Sharpay and she was planning on keeping it that way. Besides, her fucked up past had no relevance to her future marriage. The waitress came back a few minutes later and placed their food in front of them.

/0\

Troy sat in the park, enjoying the warm weather like everyone else. He knew that it would have been a better idea to stay inside of Gabriella's condo where there was television, but he didn't want to become bored with the place before he'd even adjusted to it. He smiled slightly at the children and their parents walking by.

"Troy?"

He turned his head and saw Chad with his daughter. The little girl hid behind her father's leg, still unsure about the male that had came to her door last night. Troy's lips turned upward in one corner, giving her a small grin before turning his eyes to her father.

"Hey."

"What are you doing here?"

"Just…passing the time."

Chad turned to Destiny. "Sweetheart, why don't you go play?"

"Okay."

He waited until she was a good way off before turning back to Troy. He took a seat beside him on the bench and let the silence take over.

"How old is she?"

"Five."

"So you had her when you were sixteen?"

"Yeah. Natalie, her mother, was my high school sweetheart. I'd been her first, she'd been mine. Neither of us thought she would get pregnant on the first time, but she did. Eight months later, she had Destiny. I stood by her and helped as much as I could with everything a baby needs. I even told her that when we graduated, I would marry her. But, unfortunately, life is never that easy. We broke up a month before graduation. She told me that it was better that way. She still let me see Destiny up until she disappeared. I went almost three years without seeing my daughter and it killed me."

"Is that why you turned to drinking and drugs?"

"That's exactly why." He sighed. "But after you started getting into the hard stuff, I rethought about my life. I was already aimed at changing before Destiny became part of my life again; she became an incentive to really do so."

"You're lucky."

"How so?"

"You've got someone you wanted to change for."

Chad didn't respond. He could see the emotions fighting in Troy's eyes and knew there was more to him. When Chad had met Troy, he always thought the guy was just headstrong. He never gave a second thought towards a possible troubled past. Since Troy never spoke of his life before he came to L.A., Chad put it out of his head that Troy could have been going through more shit than Chad imagined. Looking at him now, he knew that Troy was just as fucked up as he was, maybe even more.

"How did things at the hotel work out?"

"It didn't."

"What do you mean?"

"You need a credit card in order to get a room."

"What kind of bullshit is that?"

One passing couple sent Chad a glare and moved a little faster, hoping that their child did not hear the man's outburst.

"It's stupid, I know."

"So where are you staying?"

"With this girl."

"Girlfriend?"

Troy snorted. "She wishes."

"Then who is she?"

"Just some girl I met a couple of nights ago. She was drunk, I was drunk. You get the picture."

"You fucked like rabbits. Yeah, I get the picture."

"Anyway, she felt sorry for me and let me stay with her until I can find my own place."

"I thought you hated charity?"

"I do, but what else was there? I needed a place to stay and she offered me one. I just couldn't reject it. That would have been the stupidest thing I've ever done."

"Stupider than that time you got so high at a party, you thought the guy's pool was calling to you and decided to jump in."

Troy chuckled. "Yes, stupider than that."

Chad laughed alongside him. "Those were the days."

"Yeah." Silence. "Chad."

"Hm?"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I tried to force my new ways on you back then. It was stupid and selfish and because of it, I lost the only friend I had."

"Troy…just tell me, why did you try so hard to make me get into all that stuff?"

"I guess I just didn't want to do it alone. You had become so much like a brother to me. I thought that I would lose you if I didn't get you into it, but I just pushed your further away."

"You were like my brother, too, Troy."

He took a deep breath. "I know that it'll never be the same as it was, but…do you think we could maybe try and get our friendship back."

"Truthfully, Troy, I don't know. I mean, you still are the best of friend I've ever had, but there's too much at stake now. I can't let myself fall back into that routine of getting drunk and high, not when I have a daughter to look after."

"If I promise not to bring that stuff around you, is it a possibility?"

"Maybe. Give me some time to think about it." Troy nodded and watched as Chad stood. "Destiny, time to go."

The little girl came bounding towards her father and immediately attached herself to his leg. She looked at Troy, still curious to who he was.

"Daddy, who is he?" she asked, looking up at her father.

"This is Troy, Des. He's an old friend of mine."

"Oh." She looked at Troy. "Hi."

Troy smiled, the first one Chad had ever seen from him. "Hi. You're such a pretty little girl."

She smiled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Well, we better go." Chad bent down and picked her up. "See you around?"

"Yeah."

Troy watched them go, his smile slipping off his face. Standing, he headed off into the direction of Morris' place, needing something to take his mind off of everything.


	8. Chapter 7

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews. I know I've only introduced four of the main HSM cast into this story, but you will be seeing Ryan as well as Kelsi and Taylor in the near future. Zeke and Jason will come a bit later in the story.**

**Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 7

Gabriella stepped off the elevator only to find Troy sitting cross legged against the wall beside her door, cigarette between his lips. Her face scrunched up as she walked towards him. She never thought he was a smoker. He sure hadn't smelled like one.

"Can you put that out please?" she asked as she took out her keys.

"Why? Does it bother you?"

"Yes, yes it does."

He stood. "And where am I supposed to put it out at?"

Sighing, she opened the door. "Put it out in the sink."

He walked into the kitchen and turned on the water, extinguishing the ember beneath running water. After tucking what was left into his pocket, he went to seek out his apartment mate, feeling like bothering her. He found her on lying on the couch, hand over her face. Keeping quiet, he walked over to her and begun to run his hand along her leg.

"What did I say about personal space?"

"I didn't think you'd mind since you seem out of it."

"Well, I do. Now can you take your hand off my leg?"

He removed his hand, opting for picking up her legs instead and sitting down with them in his lap. She opened her eyes and looked at him as if he were crazy.

"What are you doing?"

"Not my fault you're taking up most of the couch."

"Fine, just…don't touch me."

She laid back down and placed her hand back over her eyes. Out of nowhere, she begun to feel him taking off her shoes. Growling slightly, she sat up and opened her eyes, ready to yell.

"Didn't I tell you not to…oh." Her sentence ended with a pleasurable moan as his fingers worked the muscles in her feet.

Her eyes closed and she slumped back down against the couch. She bit her lip as he continued to massage the bottom of her feet. She'd never felt anything like this before, not even in the numerous spa treatments she'd gotten.

Troy glanced at her, a smirk on his face. He knew she would not be able to tell him off if he gave her a foot massage. His mother was a masseuse and she taught him all the pressure points in the body. At the time, he didn't think it would ever come in handy, but it had. Back in high school, he would give all the girls he was interested in a massage, hoping that one of them would sleep with him. It eventually worked, but not the way he wanted. His face darkened just thinking about it. Pushing it out of his mind, he focused on Gabriella.

Switching to the next foot, he felt his arousal pool when he heard a rather loud moan escape from her lips. He looked at her and made sure to move her other leg away from his crotch so she wouldn't know that he was getting an erection from watching the way her face contorted in pleasure. When he was done, he moved her legs from his lap and successfully covered himself.

She sat up, tucking her legs under her. "Where did you learn that?" she asked, breathlessly.

"My Mom. She was a masseuse."

She made a noise in the back of her throat and leaned her head against the back of the couch. He glanced at her, his arousal doubling when he saw the lustful look in her eyes. He wondered if she realized it was there. He stood and she gave him a questioning look.

"Where are you going?"

"To get rid of a problem," he said while heading towards his room.

"What?"

He stopped and turned to her. "Let me just be blunt. You gave me a boner."

She blushed. "Oh…I…"

He chuckled. "For a girl who seems like she's fucked more than one guy, you act pretty shy about shit."

"That's because I'm not used to talking to a guy about all of that extra stuff. You're a lot more vulgar than any guy I've ever met."

"Thank you."

"That's not…nevermind. Just go…do your business. But remember, I better not find _any_ evidence that it has been done."

"Yes, _Mother_."

"Since when do you fuck your Mother?"

"Since my Mother became hot."

"Ugh. You're disgusting."

Chuckling, he went towards his room and closed the door. Gabriella sighed and stood, heading up to her room. She didn't want to admit, but that foot massage had done the trick. All the stress she had felt from the meeting with her father and the Mercers to lunch with Maximilian had rolled off her the second Troy's fingers made contact with the muscles in her feet.

/0\

"I'm so bored," he announced as he sat in front of the television, flipping through channels.

It'd been a week since Troy had moved in with Gabriella and she found it wasn't that bad living with him. He cleaned up after himself and followed the rules she'd given him. He was intent on keeping his balls. Unfortunately, the sex jokes and comments continued to filter through his lips. They wouldn't have bothered her as much if it weren't for the fact that she had been extremely horny as of late.

"Well, maybe you should find something else to do."

"I know what else I want to do, but you won't do it with me."

She rolled her eyes. "Is that all you think about? Sex?"

"No. I think about food, too."

"Typical American male," she mumbled.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means exactly what it sounds like. You only think of food and sex. Nothing else."

"Not my fault I'm a growing boy whose dick grows every time it sees something it wants to fuck."

"I'm going upstairs," she said, standing up.

"Mind if I come with."

"I'd rather you stay down here."

"Alright, but I'll be thinking of you."

"Of course you will."

She climbed the stairs to her bedroom and closed the door. She didn't want to admit it, but all that dirty talk was making her even hornier than before. Alone time was what she needed. Going into her bathroom, she turned on the shower and stripped down. Making sure it was warm enough, she stepped inside and let the water wash over her. It wasn't long before temptation took over and she found her fingers slipping over her folds. She bit her lip to make sure she didn't make a sound. She did not need to let Troy know what she was doing.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Troy sat in front of the television, looking more bored than ever. Out of nowhere, there was a knock on the door. He looked up towards Gabriella's bedroom, wondering if he should answer it. Another knock, this time louder. Going against his own conscience, he stood and went to open the door. He was met by a short blonde—though taller than Gabriella—who wore a look of surprise.

"Who are you?"

"Um…I'm Troy."

"Where's Gabriella?"

"Upstairs."

She pushed past him and went straight up to Gabriella's room, leaving him dumbfounded. Sharpay walked into the unoccupied bedroom and crossed over to the closed bathroom door. She knocked.

"Go away, Troy."

"Gabriella Marie, if you do not open this door and explain to me why you have a guy in your house, I will take off my heels and hit you."

Gabriella scrambled out of the shower, cutting her pleasure session short. She turned off the water and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around her body, before opening the door.

"Shar, what…?"

"Nevermind what _I'm_ doing here. Who, the hell, is that guy down there?"

She sighed. "His name's Troy. He's…living with me for the time being."

"What?" she shrieked.

"Shh." Gabriella crossed the room and closed the door.

"What do you mean he's _living_ with you?"

"He got evicted from his apartment and I told him he could stay here."

"Why? You don't even know the guy."

"I know, but you know me, Shar. I can't just say 'no' to someone when they need my help."

Sharpay shook her head, her blonde hair following. "Gabriella, for all you know he could be a serial rapist."

"You act as if I can't take care of myself."

"I know you can, Babe, but…how can you be so sure you can trust him?"

"I can't, but he needed some place to stay. He's not going to be here for long. It's just for the time being." She took a seat on her bed, still dripping wet from her shower. "Besides, if he was a rapist, he would have done it by now. Troy's been living with me for a week and the farthest he's gotten was a few choice sentences that have to do with sex."

"You've been living with this guy…for a _week_? Are you nuts?"

"Shar, please."

"Fine. But if you get raped…"

"I'm not going to."

"How do you know?"

"Because I just do." She sighed. "As many times as he's made lewd comments, he's never once actually followed up on them."

"But…"

"Just trust me, okay?"

"Fine. I trust you. But if he tries anything, I'm going to beat him senseless."

Gabriella smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"So are you going to introduce me?"

"Give me two seconds to put some clothes on."

"Okay."

When Sharpay stood in that same spot, not moving one inch, Gabriella gave her a questioning look.

"Aren't you going to…?"

"Oh, please. It's not like I haven't seen anything you've got. Besides, do you not remember that time we had that threesome? I've seen you naked before."

Shaking her head, Gabriella went around her room to find clean clothes and underwear to put on. After she was dressed, the two girls made their way downstairs and found Troy still parked in front of the television, watching—of all things—porn.

"I hope you know you're paying for that."

"No I'm not."

"Oh? And why not?"

He looked over the couch at her, smirking. "Because I found it on your DVR system."

She stopped dead in her tracks. "What? That's impossible!"

"Nope, sorry, princess, but it was there."

"But I've never…" She turned to Sharpay. "Ryan."

"No. He would never."

"The last time he was here, I left him alone for a good two hours. He had to have."

Sharpay turned white. "Ugh. Now I have the worst picture in my head. I wish you would have never told me that. Great, now I'm going to have find a way to burn the picture of my brother jerking off."

"You have to find a way? _I_ have to find a…shit."

"What?"

"I always wondered what that white spot was," she mumbled to herself. "I'm gonna have to burn my couch."

Troy stood and backed away from the offending object.

"You mean I've been sitting on…" He made a face. "Great. I'm tainted by some other guy's jizz."

"Hey, I've slept on that thing." She turned to Sharpay, smiling maliciously. "Do me a favor? Next time you see your brother, tell him I'm going to kill him."

"Will do."


	9. Chapter 8

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: thanks so much for the reviews. This story, for the moment, is my main priority. I have a feeling that if I try and work on my other stories while I'm working on this one, I'll loose my focus and won't be able to finish it.**

**Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 8

"_Mama?"_

_The woman of only thirty-five looked up from the food she had been eating and her face softened when she saw the crying eyes of her daughter._

"_Gabi, what's wrong?"_

_The ten year older ran over to her mother and wrapped her arms around her. She didn't want to cry, but she couldn't help it. Her heart was broken._

"_Mija, what happened?"_

"_Daddy…Daddy doesn't like me."_

"_That's not true."_

"_Yes, it is. He never wants me around."_

"_Listen to me," she said, moving away slightly so that she could look into her daughter's brown eyes. "Your Father loves you. He'll always love you even if he never shows it."_

"_Really?"_

"_Really."_

_Gabriella wiped her eyes and smiled up at her mother. She truly believed the woman's words; that her father loved her and would always love her._

Oh, how great of a lie that was.

If there had been one point in time that Jorge Montez seemed to love his daughter, it was only to please his wife. There was never a time when he would interact with her out of his own accord unless it was by request of his wife. Even now, he barely spoke or saw his daughter outside of the planning for the wedding. Gabriella didn't need for him to admit it to know he never once loved her like a father should love his daughter. She'd accepted that fact, but that didn't mean it hurt any less.

"Gabriella, are you even listening to me?"

Eyes snapping from its focus on her hands, she looked into the brown orbs that looked much like her own and wished she could ask him why didn't he love her.

"I'm sorry, Daddy."

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I wish you would stop day dreaming for one second and just _listen_ to me."

She bit her lip and looked down, feeling like a small child instead of a twenty-year old. Closing her eyes, she fought the urge to cry and took a deep breath before looking at him once more.

"I'm sorry. Please continue."

"Like I was saying, the Mercers want to have the wedding in a Catholic Church and…"

"But I don't believe in God."

He sent her a stern look. "Whatever you do, do not, and I mean _do not_, let the Mercers know that. They are strong believers in God and strict Catholics. Let's just hope they don't request to take you to a Gynecologist to see if you're still a virgin; it's a common fact that you aren't."

She wanted to speak up, wanted to tell him that if he didn't appreciate her being tainted then he should just disown her right then and there, but she kept quiet. She didn't want to give him the idea.

"Let's just hope that when the time comes to fake it, you're as a good an actress as your Mother was."

What did he mean by that? If she could ask without arousing his anger, she would, but that was no guarantee. So she bit her lip harder and kept the question to herself.

"Do you know how many people will be attending?"

He nodded. "About a thousand."

"Why so many? I don't even know that many people."

"It'll be our family, their family, our friends, their friends, our associates and their families, their associates and their families. The list goes on."

"Oh."

The door to the study opened and both turned their heads.

"Sir," said the butler, Samuel, as he appeared in the doorway. "There's a Mr. Bergen on the phone for you."

"Thank you, Samuel." The butler nodded and closed the door. "I have to take this. We'll talk about all of this later."

She nodded and stood from her seat, leaving his study seconds later.

/0\

Gabriella sat in her bathtub, staring at nothing. Though she'd gotten used to Troy's presence in her apartment, she was somewhat glad that he hadn't been home when she arrived. Sometime this week he'd found himself a job in security at the mall and was working late that night. She'd rather not have him see this moment of weakness in her personality.

Sighing, she leaned her head back against the edge of the tub and closed her eyes. She was still reeling from the fact that her father had decided to take a jab at her lack of purity. He knew that what she'd done from the age of thirteen to the age of seventeen was one big mistake, but he never let her forget it. He continued to wave it in her face, no matter how many times she said she was sorry for it all.

_Can't he see that I've learned from the mistakes I've made? Does he have to keep reminding me that I'm one big screw up?_

A single tear slid down her cheek and she opened her eyes, staring up at the ceiling. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that she couldn't, in no way, gain her father's love no matter how hard she tried. Sinking further into the water, she wondered how much longer she could live this way. She was trying so hard to get his approval, even marrying someone she barely even knew, but he didn't seem to care. She could care less about the fact that her father would cut her off if she failed to marry Maximilian, she just wanted him to love her the way he was supposed to; treat her like she should be treated.

The water had gone cold long ago, but she hadn't noticed. Sighing, she reached for the plug and pulled it out to let the water drain before standing. Wrapping a towel around her waist, she walked up to the mirror and stared at her reflection. She searched her eyes for something familiar, something that reminded her of the happy little girl she used to be. She found no evidence that that person had ever existed.

The phone begun to ring, but she refused to answer, already knowing who it was.

"_Gabriella? Gabriella, this is your Father,"_ he said when the voicemail picked up. _"I forgot to tell you one more thing. Maximilian and his parents want to meet with us for lunch tomorrow to discuss more wedding plans. I'll have a limo pick you up at eleven and take you to the restaurant."_

He ended it there and the line went silent until the beep of the voicemail sounded, ending the message. He hadn't even bothered to say 'goodbye'.

Silent tears began to stream down her face. Rushing downstairs to the kitchen, she went into one of the drawers and pulled out the first sharpest knife she could find. Holding her arm over the sink, she placed the blade at her skin, ready to cut. But she couldn't do it. Something inside her wouldn't let her. Throwing the knife down, she sunk to the floor and began to sob uncontrollably.

/0\

Sharpay rushed through the front door of her best friend's condo and went on a search. She found the brunette sitting on the couch in the living room, still clad in her towel; legs against her chest, arms wrapped around her knees, eyes staring at some unknown object.

"Gabi."

Gabriella lifted her bloodshot eyes to Sharpay and the blonde felt a sense of déjà vu. Saying nothing, she sat beside her best friend and gathered her up in her arms.

"I wanted to do it," Gabriella whispered, confessing everything. "The knife was so close to drawing blood, but I backed out at the last minute. I'm sorry."

"For what?" Sharpay questioned, confused for what she had to be sorry for.

"For even thinking of it. I promised you I wouldn't and I almost did."

Sighing, the blonde tightened her grip on her best friend. "It doesn't matter now. What matters is that you didn't do it; that you kept your word that you would never cut yourself again." She kissed Gabriella's forehead. "I'm proud of you, babe."

With a small smile, Gabriella buried her face into the crook of Sharpay's shoulder and let the feeling of her sister's embrace comfort her.

/0\

When Troy came home later that night—glad that Gabriella had finally given him a key—he was surprised to find Sharpay in the kitchen. The blonde was in deep thought, leaning against the counter. He hadn't meant to scare her, but he caught her off guard when he cleared his throat.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Just visiting Gabriella."

He was skeptical, but left it at that. "Is she awake?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Oh."

"Why?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

"No reason."

"Troy," she said, walking up to him. "I don't exactly trust you, but Gabriella seems to, so I need you to do me a favor."

"Uh…sure. What is it?"

"Keep an eye on her, okay? She's…she's not in the best of situations at the moment and it's taking a toll on her."

"She seems fine to me."

"That's because she doesn't want anyone to know how vulnerable she really is. I've known her since Sophomore year of high school. I've been with her through a lot so she trusts me. I know it will take a while before she lets you in, but you gotta know that she's not as strong as she seems." She looked at her watch. "I've gotta go. Promise you'll keep an eye on her for me?"

He nodded. "I promise."

She smiled. "Thanks. Tell her I'll call her in the morning."

He watched her go, slightly confused and slightly worried. Had something happened today? If he had been home early, would she have put on a façade in order to hide her vulnerability? Too stressed and too tired to think anymore, he wandered into the living room. He quickly turned on the television and switched on some random station. He didn't really care what was on; he wouldn't be watching it anyway. Glancing up at the stairs, he made sure her door was still closed before pulling out a half full baggie of cocaine; reminding himself to watch how much he used. The past week had been stressful with the new job and everything so he was using up his stash more than usual, causing him to run low.

Setting out four lines, he snorted the first two and sat back against the couch. He hated that he was doing this right under Gabriella's nose—since she had clearly stated, one day while they were watching one of those movies that dealt with drugs, that she never wanted to find out that someone she knew was a user—but couldn't help himself.

When the haze began to fade, he quickly snorted up the last two lines and closed his eyes as the effects kicked in once more.

"Shar?"

_Shit._

He quickly pocketed his baggie and wiped his nose, making sure no substance was left behind. He only hoped that his eyes weren't red. Settling himself like he hadn't been doing anything, he quickly changed the channel—which had been on CNN for some odd reason—to something she knew he would have been watching; basketball.

"Troy?"

He turned his head. "Hey."

"Hey. When did you get home?"

"Not long ago."

"Oh. Where's Sharpay?"

"She said she had to go, but she'll call you in the morning."

She nodded and took a seat beside him. Glancing at her, he noticed that her eyes were red and puffy and that there were tear tracks on her cheeks. She also seemed to not be there; almost as if her mind was someplace else.

"You all right?"

"Yeah. Just…" She sighed, "tired."

He nodded. "I'm, uh…_here_ if you ever wanna, you know, talk."

"Troy," she said, turning to him, "you've been here for almost three weeks and I barely even know you. What makes you think I'm just going to open up to you like that?"

He shrugged. "I didn't say you had to, I just said if you wanted to. Besides, I have no problem getting to know you."

"Really? You actually want to get to know me without getting in my pants first?"

Smirking, he turned to her, looking her over. "I've already gotten into your pants, remember? Although, I believe you were wearing a skirt, making things _a lot_ easier."

She laughed and shook her head. "You really want to get to know me?"

"Yeah. Is that a crime?"

"No, I just…I'm not very interesting."

"Neither am I." She smiled and leaned her head against the couch. "So, do you wanna tell me what happened today?"

Her smile slipped off her face. "Nothing happened."

"That's pure bullshit. Sharpay look like she was going to kill someone. Not to mention, you've been crying."

"It's nothing, really. Just family issues."

He knew that he wasn't going to get anymore from her, so he left it at that. He understood what it was like to what to keep some secrets just that: secrets.

"Is it about your Dad?" he asked, remembering her confession about her father hating her for losing her grandmother's ring.

She nodded. He had every right to tell her that she was lucky to have her parents, but then he would just give himself away; he would just be admitting that he didn't have a mother or father. He kept his mouth shut and watched as she tried hard not to cry all over again.

"How old are you?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Twenty."

He quirked a brow. "And yet you managed to get wasted at a club?"

She smirked. "I'm resourceful."

"Resourceful how?"

"I can't tell; it's a secret," she said lowly. "How old are you, by the way?"

"Also twenty-one."

"And how do _you_ manage to get wasted at a club?"

"That's where you're wrong. I wasn't wasted; tipsy, but not wasted. And if you must know, I have a fake ID."

"Ah. The easy way."

He chuckled. "No, the easy way is flashing your tits to the bartender so he'll give you free drinks in hope that he'll score with you."

"How did you know?"

"It didn't take much to figure it out."

"Damn. And here I thought no one would ever know my secret."

He grinned. "So what are you gonna do now that I know your secret? Are you going to tie me up? Are you going to torture me?"

She rolled her eyes. "You are one sick bastard."

"I know." He leant close to her so his lips were beside her ear. "But I can't help it when I'm living with one sexy bitch."

She pushed him away and blushed slightly, making him chuckle at her reaction.


	10. Chapter 9

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: thank you to all my reviewers. I'm glad that you all like how this story is going. Writing isn't as much of a hobby for me as it is an escape, so I'm not as good as many of the writers on this site, but I'm flattered that you think I'm doing a good job writing this story cause I surely don't think so. lol.**

**Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 9

Gabriella jolted awake the next morning, finding herself lying across the couch with a blanket draped over her mid-section. Looking around, she saw that the television was on, but no sound came out of it. She guessed it was put on mute so it wouldn't disturb her. Remembering what happened hours earlier, she wondered where Troy was. As if on cue, he came out of his room with nothing but a pair of pants on. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw the rather large gash across his chest that stretched from the right side of his collarbone to just underneath his left pectoral. What had happened to him to cause him to receive such a large scar? Before she could study it any further, he put on a shirt and walked into the kitchen.

Figuring it would be better that she got up, she stretched and yawned, alerting him to her conscious state. She ran a hand through her bed hair and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"Morning," he said.

"Morning." She got up and walked over to the kitchen. "What time is it?"

"Ten thirty."

"Shit."

"What?"

"I'm supposed to be heading to lunch with my Father in half an hour."

He turned, leaning against the counter. "Do you really wanna do that? I mean…you were pretty upset last night because of him."

"I really have no choice, Troy."

Leaving him in the kitchen, she went up to her room to get ready before her father's limo arrived. She _wished_ she could put off this lunch with her father and the Mercers, but he was expecting her to be there. She didn't want to give him another reason why he should be angry with her.

"Oh, if Sharpay calls while I'm in the shower, tell her I'll call her later," she called.

"Will do."

/0\

Visiting Chad at his job had become an almost daily thing since that day in the park. Troy could slowly feel himself getting his friend back. They joked and reminisced about all the times they had in the past. It was bittersweet, though, because it brought back the fact that Troy had destroyed their friendship as slowly as the cocaine was destroying him. But they didn't dwell on it.

"So how goes living with this girl?"

"Great. She gave me some rules that I have to follow. If I don't, she'll cut my balls off."

Chad chuckled. "And you're actually following them?"

"Somewhat. I make it a priority to make some kind of dirty joke or comment towards her."

He shook his head. "And she hasn't kicked your ass out yet? Tough girl."

"She doesn't want me to know, but she secretly likes it."

"And you know that how?"

"She either laughs or rolls her eyes when I say it. She never tells me off."

"I wonder how you got lucky with that one."

"Wish I knew."

"Is she aware that your birthday is coming up soon?"

"No. I haven't told her. Don't really know if I want to."

"Why?"

"Girls tend to make a big deal out of birthdays."

"Stop being so sexist."

"I'm not."

"You are. You're lumping all girls together. Not all girls are the same. Hey, you might be lucky and she might not give a damn about your birthday."

"Maybe."

"Did you bring the picture of her I asked for?"

"Yeah." He pulled out a picture of Gabriella and Sharpay that he'd swiped from her wallet.

"Whoa." Chad said, looking down at the picture. "This is her right?" he asked, pointing to the brunette in the picture.

"Yep. That's Gabriella."

"She's cute. Who's the blonde?"

"Her best friend, Sharpay."

"Odd name."

"You can say that twice. But they're close, like sisters. Sharpay's very protective of Gabriella, so I know there's some kind of past that goes with her."

"Like you."

Troy nodded. Chad may not have known much about Troy's past, but he did know he had one. That much could not go unnoticed by the guy who used to spend almost every waking moment with Troy. Chad knew that Troy wasn't fond of his birthday; he also knew that Troy had an unspoken hatred with the date July 12th. He didn't know why, but he did know that those two days were two of the worse days of the year for Troy.

"Is her friend single?"

Troy smirked. "As far as I know she is. Why? Interested?"

Chad shrugged and grinned. "Maybe."

/0\

She was suffocating.

Around her, plans for her spring wedding were being spoken about. Georgia had brought along Maximilian's aunt, Corrine, and his god-mother, Audrey. All three women were speaking rapidly that she could hardly keep up. Every few seconds she would catch a word or a sentence, but nothing more.

"I was thinking of pink dresses for the bridesmaids."

She hated pink.

"White roses."

She much preferred lotus flowers or lilies.

"How about a long veil?"

She didn't want a veil.

"A cathedral."

"I don't believe in God."

Conversation ceased. Gabriella hadn't realized she had said that out loud until three pairs of eyes were on her. She was slightly glad that her father, Maximilian and Tobias Mercer had excused themselves from the table so that the women could talk.

"I'm sorry. What was that?" Georgia asked.

"I…I don't believe in God."

She could see something in the woman break. Georgia stood and went to seek out her husband, leaving Gabriella under the scrutinizing eyes of Corrine and Audrey. When she returned, Georgia returned with all three men and Gabriella could feel her father's burning gaze on her without having to look up.

"Tell them, Gabriella."

"I don't believe in God," she said softly.

Georgia turned to Jorge. "If you think I'm allowing my son to marry an atheist, you are sorely mistaken."

"I assure you, Georgia, that Gabriella is not an atheist. She whole-heartedly believes in God."

"Then why did she say it?"

"It was just a joke." He turned to Georgia, smiling slightly

"You do not joke about things like _that_, Jorge. It is unacceptable."

"I am aware of that." He turned back to Gabriella, burning holes into the top of her head. "Gabriella has a tendency to do things without thinking. This was just one of those times. Right?"

She nodded. "Yes. I'm sorry, Mrs. Mercer. I didn't mean to say what I said. It was a mistake to think I could joke about something like that."

Georgia sighed and retook her seat. "It's fine, dear."

"M-May I be excused?"

"Of course."

She stood and quickly went to the ladies' room to get from underneath her father's gaze. She screwed up; she knew that. It was nothing new and that's what made it even more unbearable. She told her father that she would never mention the fact that she didn't believe in God and she did…unintentionally.

Leaning against the sink, she stared at her reflection.

_When are you going to stop making mistakes? When are you going to become the daughter he would be proud to have?_

/0\

Something was wrong.

He didn't even have to ask her to know.

Worry crept over him as he watched her stare blankly at the television screen. He knew she shouldn't have gone to see her father today, but she refused to listen. Walking over to her, he sat down in front of her on the coffee table and blocked her view of the television.

"Troy? What are you…?"

"You were zoning off. I've been standing in the kitchen staring at you for the past ten minutes."

"You weren't imagining me naked again, were you?" she asked, hoping that she could change the subject.

"No, though I wanted to, but that's not the point." He sighed. "Point is, something's bothering you."

"I'm fine, Troy, really."

"You said the same thing last night and I saw right through that lie. What makes you think I can't see through this one?"

Sighing, she lowered her head. "How did you get so good at reading me?"

"I'm a very observant person." He placed his fingers under her chin and raised her head so that she was looking at him again. "I know you don't want to talk about it with me, but at least talk about it with someone. Call Sharpay; I'm sure she'd be happy to talk."

She smiled softly. "Thanks, Troy."

He nodded and smirked. "You're welcome." Standing, he headed back into the kitchen. "Uh. I'm fucking hungry."

"I can make you something."

"You don't have to."

She shrugged. "I know, but…cooking's kind of therapeutic for me. It helps me distract myself."

"If that's what you wanna do, then by all means go right ahead."

She got up and walked into the kitchen. Troy watched as she flittered around, going through cabinets for the necessary materials.

"Anything in particular you want?"

"Nope. Whatever you feel like making."

Nodding, she turned away from him and began to cook her mother's infamous 'arroz con pollo'. She wasn't sure how big he was on Spanish food, but he said anything.

**A/N: If you haven't realized it by now, this is going to be a Chadpay. The idea of Chad and Sharpay together has grown on me :)**


	11. Chapter 10

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: 102 reviews by chapter 9! Thanks so much you guys. This chapter is Troy's birthday. I know you all are smart and will probably figure out what happened. If you have a guess, feel free to make an assumption, but I'm not telling ;)**

**Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 10

"_Happy birthday to you."_

_They were fighting again._

_They'd been fighting often and today was no different, except…he was the one they were fighting over._

"_Happy birthday to you."_

_He hadn't meant to get into a fist fight, but the other kid started it. He said something about his sister that wasn't true and he couldn't just let the kid get away with it._

_Sinking into his seat, he tried to resist the urge to cry. He was tired of them arguing, but what could he do?_

"_Happy birthday, Dear Troy…"_

_She screamed and his head snapped up. A bright light appeared in front of them, getting closer by the second until…everything went dark._

"_Happy birthday to you."_

/0\

He was unusually quiet.

So quiet that Gabriella immediately knew something wasn't right. When she wandered into the kitchen that morning, she found that he was already up. She bade him a 'good morning,' but he stayed silent. That had been the start of her worrying. She fixed him scrambled eggs and toast—anything to get him to say something—but even when she placed it in front of him, he stayed silent. Glancing at him, she watched as he slowly ate the food she'd set before him and wondered what could possibly be bothering him.

"I'm twenty-one today," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"You are?"

He nodded and looked at her. "Yeah. Today's my birthday."

She smiled softly. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks."

"For someone who's finally legal, you don't sound too happy about it."

He shrugged. "I haven't celebrated my birthday in years."

"Something happened?"

"You could say that."

She knew he didn't want to elaborate on it further, so she let the conversation head in a different direction.

"Anything special you want for your birthday?"

He grinned. "There is _one_ thing."

She rolled her eyes. "_I_ am not an option."

"Then you shouldn't have asked if I wanted anything special."

"Anything _other_ than me."

He chuckled. "I could use new clothes."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm sort of…running out."

"Well, I have nothing to do today. I could take you."

"Ah…no."

"Why not?"

"I'm well aware of how girls are when it comes to shopping."

"I'm not like most girls. I don't go crazy when I go into a clothing store."

"Uh-huh. Sure you don't."

She shook her head and stood up. "Whether you want to believe me or not, I'm the only one with money since you haven't gotten your paycheck yet."

"Actually, today's when I get my inheritance money, so, no, you're not the only one with money."

"But are you actually going to pass up someone else buying you new clothes?" she asked as she grabbed his plate.

"You got me there," he said with a chuckle.

Walking to the sink, she rinsed off both plates before placing them inside the dishwasher. She turned her head slightly to see what had made him become quiet again and found that he was staring at the table, apparently deep in thought.

She leant her backside against the counter and watched him. "Troy?"

"Hm?"

"You all right?"

He gave her the infamous smirk she'd come to know so well and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

That was a lie. She could tell by the look in his eyes; the one that plainly said that he wasn't okay. Wanting to cheer him up, she walked over to him and pulled him to his feet.

"Come on. Go get dressed."

"Why?"

"We're gonna go shopping for new clothes. I can't have you walking around here naked."

"You could."

"Haha…no. Not happening."

Chuckling, he grabbed her arm and pulled her closer. "I wouldn't mind if you walked around naked though."

"What did I tell you about personal space?"

"But it's my birthday. You wouldn't deny me at least this on my birthday, would you?"

"I would…" She pushed him away, "and I am." He pouted. "But I will make you a deal."

That sparked his interest and he tilted his head slightly. "What kind of deal?"

"If you can go the entire shopping trip without invading my personal space, I will make this trip worth your while."

"Can I know what I will get out of it?"

She smirked and shook her head. "But then that will ruin the surprise."

Sighing, he nodded. "Fine. I will stay out of your personal space."

"Don't say it. You have the next four hours to prove it to me."

"_Four hours_?"

"Yeah. You can't expect to find everything you need in a short period of time, can you?"

Heading towards the stairs, she left Troy with a weary look on his face. Taking a deep, calming breath, he ran a hand through his hair and went to go take a shower.

_This is going to be a _long_ day._

/0\

He _hated_ shopping.

His feet hurt, his head hurt, his legs hurt…_everything_ hurts.

"Can we take a break?"

"What for? We're almost done."

"But I'm fucking tired. If I don't sit down, I'm going to pass out."

She sighed. "Fine. We'll take a ten minute break."

They walked into a small café and made themselves comfortable at one of the outdoor tables. Troy immediately dropped his head to the table and groaned.

"May I help you with anything?" asked the waiter.

"I'll have a water, please." Gabriella responded before turning to Troy. "You want anything?"

He grunted in response.

"Two waters, please."

The waiter nodded and disappeared into the building. After a few seconds, Troy lifted his head and glared at the woman across from him.

"Never a-fucking-gain."

She smiled and leant her arm on the table, resting her chin in her palm. "Oh, come on. You know you're enjoying yourself. I'm so much fun to hang out with."

He snorted. "Don't flatter yourself."

She narrowed her eyes. "I'll pretend like I didn't hear that."

"Whatever I'm getting in return for this better be good."

Her smile returned and he wondered what it was that she had planned. "Oh it is. Trust me."

The waiter returned with two glasses of water and placed it in front of them. Gabriella thanked him while Troy took no time in downing it. Both Gabriella and the waiter looked at him in amazement and, somewhat, disgust. When they exchanged glances, she smiled and laughed nervously.

"He's just really thirsty."

Nodding, the waiter left it at that. It wasn't his place to question customers' manners. He asked her if she had wanted anything else and, upon receiving word that she didn't, he went back inside.

"You know, you could have better manners than that."

"I can, but I'm not in the mood for it. I'm hot, I'm tired, my feet are killing me, and…and I really gotta take a piss."

"Ew. TMI. Too much information."

"Be right back."

He got up and went to search out the men's restroom. When he left, Gabriella groaned and ran a hand through her hair. She hoped that no one she knew saw her with him. Not that she was shallow or anything…okay, yes, she was shallow…but she'd rather not let anyone she knew see that she was hanging out with a guy that _wasn't_ her fiancé. Everyone she knew was already well aware of the fact that she was engaged. Sharpay was the only friend she trusted with Troy's existence in her life. If anyone else found out, it would immediately get back to her father and she would rather not deal with a whole new set of drama involving him.

"Back."

She smiled at Troy as he retook his seat. "How would you feel if we stopped our shopping trip?"

"Seriously?" She nodded. "My feet will love you forever."

Laughing, she shook her head. "But there's one more place we have to go."

He groaned. "What more do I need?"

"It's not for you…well, not entirely."

"Then can't you go another day?"

"I'd rather go now. And I'm sure once you find out where it is I need to go, you won't complain so much."

Curious, he quirked an eyebrow. What, the hell, was she talking about? Smirking, she stood and motioned for him to follow. After tipping the waiter—because come on, do you actually pay for water at a restaurant?—they began down the street. When they stopped outside of Victoria's Secret, Troy felt his feet immediately stop hurting.

"If you haven't realized it yet, I need new underwear," She turned to him, "and I need someone to help me pick the ones that look right on me. Usually Sharpay does it, but since today is your birthday and you managed to keep out of my personal space, I thought 'why not let you have a little fun?'"

"Can I pick some out?"

She nodded. "Sure. I'll even let you choose _one_ piece of lingerie."

His eyes lit up and, like a kid in a candy store, he began looking through different varieties of thongs, panties and bras.

_What the hell did I get myself into?_

She followed behind him, going to make sure he didn't pick out anything too outrageous.

/0\

"Try these on," he said, shoving a bunch of lace panties into her arms. "And these." He handed her four thongs—two of which were almost see through—and five bras.

"How did you know my size?" she asked suspiciously when she saw all the bras were the right size.

He shrugged, smirking. "I just remembered how big your tits felt when I held them."

She shook her head. "Why did I even ask?"

Taking what she had in her arms, she headed for the dressing room and closed the door behind her. She tried on each panty, each thong and each bra—liking a few, hating most—and modeled for him. She didn't even have to look down to know that he was getting hard from this. When she was finished, she appeared in the doorway of the stall completely clothed and asked him a question that had been on her mind for the past few minutes.

"I noticed you didn't choose any lingerie. Why?"

"There was one I had in mind, but I wanted to see if you liked it first."

"Why? It's not like it's gonna be for you."

He grinned. "You don't know that."

She rolled her eyes. "Just show me."

Disappearing into the main part of the store, he appeared seconds later with a red garment and handed it to her. She looked at it, then at him, then back at it before shrugging and going into the stall to change. Her mouth went slack when she saw exactly what it looked like in the mirror. No wonder why he wanted to make sure she liked it first.

The front of it was some sort of mesh material, but it felt smooth against her skin. The back…well, there basically was no back. It had seven pairs of straps—two going over her shoulders and six protruding from each side under her arms—all coming together at the back. It had a matching thong that was as sheer as the material covering her chest down to her crotch.

Truthfully, she was afraid to open that door and let him see her in this. She already knew what she would see in his eyes; something that would terrify her and send shivers down her spine. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and stepped into view.

His reaction was somewhat like her own. His mouth dropped open and his eyes roamed over her body. Feeling overexposed, she crossed her arms over her chest and looked anywhere but at him.

"What do you think?" she asked, glancing at him.

What _did_ he think?

Unable to find an answer, he walked up to her and crashed his lips against hers, catching her off guard. Backing her into the dressing room, he closed the door behind them and locked it. His hands traveled down her sides to the curve of her ass and squeezed it roughly. Gabriella moaned softly and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying one hand in his hair. Lifting her, he moved his hands to the space under her knees and wrapped her legs around his torso, pushing her against the nearest wall.

_What am I _doing_?_

His lips left hers and moved to her neck, suckling softly. She threw her head back to allow him more access and gasped silently.

_I don't care. This feels so good._

Wanting to feel more of her, he placed his hands under the sheer cloth, rubbing his thumbs against her stomach. She shuddered at the feeling and pulled his face back up to hers to capture his lips. Slowly, he made his way from her stomach to her breasts, grasping them softly.

"Excuse me!"

The voice, like a knife, cut through the haze of their minds and they remembered where they were. Troy groaned silently and leaned his head on her collarbone.

"Y-Yes?" Gabriella asked, her voice shaking.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but you and your boyfriend can't do that in there."

_Boyfriend?_ "A-Alright. We'll be right out."

"Bitch," Troy muttered.

Gabriella laughed quietly and kissed the top of his head. "Time to go."

"Give me a few seconds."

"Staring at my tits is not going to help."

"You're not helping, you know."

"Sorry."

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Troy reluctantly set her back on the ground. He walked out the dressing room pretending as if nothing happened, leaving Gabriella to compose herself. She stayed against the wall, trying to calm herself down. When she felt her heart rate returning to normal, she took a deep breath and proceeded to change into her regular clothes.


	12. Chapter 11

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: thanks so much for all the reviews. this is really nothing but filler. Don't know how many of you have seen the recent pictures of Dylan Efron, but that boy has gotten hot...just like his big brother ;)**

**Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 11

It wasn't like Gabriella to worry about a guy she barely even knew, but that's exactly what had been happening for the past few days; she found herself worrying about Troy. Whatever it was that he didn't like about his birthday seemed to stretch to the days afterwards. Watching as he got ready for his early shift that morning, she had to bite her tongue to resist asking him what exactly _happened_ to make him hate his birthday and the days that followed. She had been so glad when Sharpay called and invited her over. She was afraid that she would have spent the day pulling her hair out trying to figure out what was wrong with him. The distraction was a welcomed one.

"How long has it been since we last hung out, just me and you?" Sharpay asked as they sat beside her pool, soaking in the sun.

"A while. Things have become so hectic, I feel like I never have time for us anymore."

"That's because you _never_ have time for us anymore."

"It's not my fault, Shar. With my Father forcing me to marry Maximilian, everything has become so out of hand."

"Not to mention keeping Troy a secret from him."

She sighed. "Especially that."

"How is he, by the way?"

"He's good…I think."

Sharpay lifted her shades and looked at her best friend. "You think?" She sat up. "What do you mean 'you think'?"

Gabriella sat up and stared out at the pool. "He's been extremely quiet lately. I don't know why and I'm afraid to ask."

"Why are you afraid to ask?"

"I'm afraid that if I pry, he'll push me away. He's become a really good friend in the past two weeks and I don't want to screw that up." Gabriella turned to Sharpay. "You know me, I could use all the friends I could get."

The blonde nodded. "Does he have any friends?"

"Not that I know of. He hasn't talked to me about anything that has to do with friends or family, really. He's very…solitary."

"Family is one thing, but friends… Maybe it would be a good idea to at least ask him about his friends."

"Maybe."

Would Troy actually mention any friends that he might have? Or would he leave her in the dark like he had been doing? Groaning inwardly, she ran a hand through her dark tresses and cursed herself for even bringing up the fact that she was worried about her blue eyed apartment mate.

/0\

In reality, Troy hadn't been all that excited to finally be receiving his parents' inheritance money. It was nothing but a reality check; the final proof that his parents were never coming back. He stayed quiet through the entire ordeal of signing the necessary paper work; only speaking when essential.

"Well, Mr. Bolton," Mr. Monroe, the banker, said as he gathered all the documents. "All I have to do is send this to your parents' lawyer to let him sign off on it and then you will be receiving bonds that you can take to any bank and cash in."

"Mr. Monroe, would it be alright if I just opened an account here and let you take care of all that stuff?"

"Sure. I just need proof of birth and proof of address."

"I, uh, didn't bring any of that with me."

"You can always come back and I'd be happy to assist you."

"Thanks. Can I…ask you one last question?"

"Sure."

"Do you know anything about my sister's inheritance? Like if she received her share or not?"

"I'm afraid I can't answer that, Mr. Bolton. Your sister's information is confidential."

"Right. Thanks anyway."

Troy stood and walked towards the exit, mind in a daze. He needed to know where his sister was; needed to know if she was okay. Sticking his hands in his pocket, he walked towards the direction of Morris' place; in need of a distraction. Truthfully, he didn't want to just in case Morris found out that he hadn't paid Daisy the last time he was there. He didn't want to risk getting her in trouble, but he had no other choice.

Liev was at his post, as usual, and greeted Troy with a nod. Troy acknowledged him with his own curt nod and found his way to one of the bedroom-type rooms, called the blue rooms. No one actually knew why it was called that since they weren't at all blue, but no one bothered to question it. Lying down on the king sized bed, he stared at the ceiling for a while before the door opened. He lifted his head and smirked when Daisy came through the door.

"Hello, Sugar. Nice to see you again."

"Nice to see you, too, Dase."

Stripping off her shirt and skirt, she closed the door and walked over to him with nothing but her panties on. He kept to where he laid, watching her every move. Getting on her hands and knees, she crawled up his legs, brushing her hand over the bulge in his pants. She didn't stop until she was hovering over him, face inches from his. She smirked seductively before kissing him sensually.

His hands found her waist and pulled her onto him. Laughing, she reached for the hem of his shirt and pushed it upwards, kissing his stomach. Her hands moved down to his pants and wasted no time undoing his belt and zipper. She pushed down his jeans and his boxers and grabbed him, stroking him gently. Her other hand moved his shirt further up his chest until all of him as exposed.

"You know, Sugar, I've always wondered something."

"What?" he asked between a moan.

"Where did you get this scar of yours?" she asked as she began to run her fingers over it.

He caught her hand and she looked up at him. A sudden fear ran through her when she saw the dark look in his eyes.

"None of your fucking business."

Catching her off guard, he flipped them and stared down at her, his usually light blue eyes a darker color. She was afraid. This wasn't the Troy she knew.

"Troy?"

He pushed into her, causing her to gasp in surprise and in pain. His thrusts were more forceful than ever and it hurt. His blunt fingernails dug into his skin as he penetrated her. This _definitely_ wasn't the Troy she knew. The sweet guy she was used to wouldn't have caused her this much pain without apologizing for doing so.

"Slow down, Sugar, you're hurting me."

He didn't. It was as if he wasn't hearing her. Burying his face in her hair, he continued his fast pace until he was done. Breathing hard, she placed her hand on the back of his head, trying to get him back to normal.

"Troy, are you okay?"

Answering with a low growl, he shook his head. He waited until he could breathe normally again before picking his head up.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"What happened?"

"Nothing, I just…" He didn't finish his sentence. "I gotta go."

Sitting up, he begun to fix himself, but stopped when he felt Daisy's hand on his shoulder. He quickly shrugged her off.

"Talk to me, Sugar."

"It's nothing you need to worry yourself over, Dase. Besides, I'd rather not talk about it."

"It helps when you talk about it."

"I know…but talking just makes it worse." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the money he owed her from now and before. "Here."

She took it. "Troy…"

"Please, Daisy, just drop it."

She sighed and nodded. "You know you've become like the brother I've never had in the year I've known you."

He looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Okay, maybe not a brother, but you've become really close to me. It pains me to see you this way. Even if it's not to me, open up to someone. It _will_ make you feel better."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

The door opened catching their attention. Liev appeared, looking straight at Daisy.

"What's wrong?"

"The boss wants to see you."

"For what?"

"Don't ask questions and just come on."

"I'll see you later, Sugar."

Troy nodded and watched as she grabbed her clothes off the floor before following Liev out the door.

/0\

Flipping through channels, Gabriella tried to find something interesting to watch, but there was nothing on. She needed something to take her mind off of Troy. Sharpay hadn't helped at all. She just made her worrying worse. Hearing the front door open and close caught her attention. Troy appeared seconds later, sending her a half-hearted wave.

"Hey."

"Hi." She bit her lip. "You okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"You were just…really quiet this morning."

"I had a lot on my mind."

"Oh. Did you take care of all that you needed to at the bank?"

"Yeah." He crossed into the living room and took a seat beside her. "How was your day?"

"It was fine. I hung out with Sharpay for the most of it."

"What did you two do?"

"Just sat by her pool, soaking in some sun."

He made a noise in the back of his throat, his eyes raking over her clothed body. "You in a bikini. There's a sight I would love to see."

Giving a short laugh, she rolled her eyes. "Well, you can tomorrow."

"Why?"

"Sharpay invited us to her family's beach house to have a sort of luau."

"Are you going to have on one of those coconut bras?"

She laughed fully this time. "No, I will not be wearing one of those coconut bras."

"Aw." He pouted. "That sucks."

"Why would you want me to wear one of those anyway?"

He shrugged. "Secret fantasy of mine."

"I'm guessing there's more than one 'secret fantasy'."

"You are correct. I have another one, but you're gonna have to figure it out on your own."

"It's having a threesome, isn't it."

"Damnit. Am I that transparent?"

"Yes, yes you are." She stood up and headed for the kitchen. "So do you wanna go?"

"Of course I do," he responded, following her. "Why would I pass up the chance to see you in a bikini?"

"Okay, rephrase that: are you gonna be _able _to go?"

"All I gotta do is call my boss and ask him if I can take the morning shift tomorrow."

"As long as you're sure you can do that…"

"I am."

"Well, then you should get on that."

"So pushy." He smirked. "I like a girl who takes charge."

"Ugh. Just go."

Chuckling, he went to go find the phone. She smiled, happy to have the old him back. As much as she hated to admit it, she missed his sex comments. They made her laugh more than they disgusted her.

"Oh, and Sharpay said that you could invite someone if you wanted."

"What?"

She bit her lip.

She shouldn't have said anything.

"Well, Shar said that it would be alright for you to invite someone along. You know, a friend or something." Seeing the look of apprehension on his face, she quickly added, "But you don't have to, i-if you don't want to."

"It's not that, I just…I don't know many people."

"You don't have any friends?"

"Of course I do, just not a lot."

"Oh."

"So I can invite someone?" he asked after a few moments of silence.

"Yeah."

He nodded before disappearing to reinstate his search for the phone and Gabriella wondered if she had gone too far with asking him if he had any friends.


	13. Chapter 12

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: thank you so much for the wonderful reviews.**

**Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 12

Curiosity was burning through him as he took discreet glances at the tattoo on her lower back. He wanted to question it; ask her what it was and what it meant. But he couldn't. He couldn't because he didn't want her to think he was prying. He couldn't because he wasn't sure if it was something she would want to talk about. So, he kept his mouth shut. Instead, he tried to focus on the fact that she was walking around in nothing but a bikini top and short shorts.

"Will you please stop staring?" she asked as she turned to face him.

"Not my fault my eyes like looking at you."

She rolled her eyes. "When is your friend coming?"

"He should be here at four."

She looked at the clock; the numbers reading 3:30. Thirty minutes more. Taking a seat across from him, she crossed her arms over the table and laid her head down. Troy stared at her, confused.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Just a bit tired."

"From what?"

"A lot of things."

"You sure you still wanna go, then?"

She nodded and picked her head up. "Yeah. I promised Shar I would be there."

"I'm sure she would understand."

"I'm fine. Really. I just have to make sure I avoid certain people when I get there. I don't need any more drama to add onto my life."

"Well, if you need me to act as bodyguard I'd be…" He looked her up and down, "happy to."

"You're crazy, you know that?"

He shrugged. "So I've been told."

"Really? By who?"

"Mostly you. But, seriously, if you need me to keep a few people away, just say the word."

She smiled. "Thanks, Troy."

Before he could say anything more, the doorbell rung and he stood to answer it; already knowing who it was. Grinning, he opened the door and greeted Chad like they used to. Their relationship still wasn't considered fixed, but Troy could tell that it was on its way to that point.

"Come on in," Troy said as he opened the door wider for Chad.

"Nice place you got here."

"Thank you."

"I wasn't talking to you."

"Oh."

Gabriella laughed and Chad turned toward her, smiling. "You must be Gabriella."

"I am."

"I'm Chad," he said, holding out his hand.

"Nice to meet you." She took his hand in hers.

"Nice to meet you, too."

"So now that he's here, can we go?" Troy asked.

"Someone's impatient."

"Let me just go grab my purse and we'll go."

Chad watched her disappear upstairs before turning to Troy. "She's cuter in person."

"I know."

"What's that tattoo?"

Troy shrugged. "I have no idea."

"You haven't asked her?"

"No. And don't tell me I should; I already know that."

"Then why haven't you?"

"Because…I wanna make sure she's okay with talking about it."

Chad nodded. "I see where you're getting at."

"Okay, guys," she said, coming back down the stairs, "I'm ready to go."

"So how are we getting there?" Troy asked as they followed her out the door.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I didn't see you call Thomas today. I was just curious as to how we're getting there if your limo isn't coming to pick us up."

"She has a limo?" Chad whispered, but was ignored.

"How do you think we're getting there? I'm driving."

"What?"

/0\

Staring in awe, Troy and Chad gazed upon the silver 2010 Nissan GT-R as if it would disappear if they blinked. Neither had been this close to a car like this and they thanked every deity they knew of for allowing them this opportunity.

"This is _your_ car?" Troy asked, stunned.

"Yeah. This is my baby," Gabriella responded, unlocking it using the keypad.

"I think I'm in love," Chad said as he walked closer to the car.

"I can't believe _this_ is your car."

"It's nothing really. You should see Sharpay's Porsche."

Chad turned to Troy. "The blonde has a _Porsche_?" Shaking his head, Chad walked closer to his friend. "Thank you. Thank you for including me in this new world of yours."

"Um…you're welcome?"

"We better get going guys. Who wants to ride up front?"

"Shotgun!" they both called before glaring at each other.

"I said it first," Troy argued.

"No, I said it first."

"Well, she's my friend."

"So? That doesn't mean anything."

"Yes it does."

"Guys," Gabriella called, but neither stopped their bickering. "_Guys_!" They stopped and turned to her. "Since it's my car, I think I'll choose who gets to sit up front."

"Then why'd you ask?" Troy asked.

"I didn't think you two would start arguing over it."

"Oh, come on, you knew that's _exactly_ what we were gonna do."

She broke out into a grin. "Yeah, I did. So I wanted to have a little fun, sue me."

"Maybe I will."

She shook her head. "Anyway. I think Troy should sit up front going and then Chad will sit up front coming back."

"How'd you figure that out?"

"Because I'm going to drop him off home. It'll make things easier if he's sitting up front."

"That is true."

"Let's go, before we're late."

Pushing the front seat forward, Chad stepped into the low sitting car and made himself comfortable. Troy put the seat upright and climbed in while Gabriella got into the driver's seat. She looked at them both and smiled.

"Buckle up."

/0\

"Where, _the fuck_, did you learn how to drive like that?" Troy asked as they came to a complete stop outside of Sharpay's beach house.

Gabriella shrugged and smiled. "I taught myself."

"I think I love you."

"Don't get so dramatic Troy." She got out and waited for the valet to come to her. "I have one warning and one warning only," she said to him, her eyes narrowing. "Do not, I repeat, _do not_ scratch my baby. Got that?"

The valet nodded and Gabriella handed him the keys. Smiling as if she hadn't just threatened someone, she joined Troy and Chad on the pathway; both looking a little scared.

"What?"

"You just _love_ threatening people, don't you?" Troy asked.

"I get it from Sharpay; she's the queen of threats."

Gabriella made her way to the front door while Chad gave Troy a worried look. Troy smirked and chuckled.

"And you thought she was cute."

"I'm scared…and turned on at the same time."

"Ew. I did not need to know that." Troy shook his head, trying to rid his head of that image, and followed Gabriella.

The three stood at the door, listening to the echo of music from the speakers, until Sharpay's butler, Roger, finally opened it. He beckoned them inside, greeting Gabriella.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Montez."

"Gabi!" The perky blonde ran up to her best friend and embraced her.

"Geez, Shar, I just saw you yesterday."

"I know, but I've been stuck with Allison and her boyfriend, Brett for the past hour. I forgot how much I hated them in high school."

"I can't believe you invited them."

"Something was wrong with me that day."

"I'm surprised Ryan isn't here."

"He's hiding from you. I told him what you said and mentioned that you would be here, so he's trying to make sure you don't see him."

Gabriella laughed. "He better hide."

Sharpay laughed before her attention was caught by the two guys standing behind her best friend. "Hello, Troy."

"Sharpay."

Even though the two hadn't really interacted much, they fell into an easy friendship, almost as if they had known each other their entire lives. Gabriella attributed it to the fact that they were both painfully honest.

"I didn't think you'd actually come."

"Hey, you invited me, so I couldn't just say no."

"I guess not." Her light brown eyes drifted towards the man standing beside Troy. "Who's this?"

"Oh, right," Troy said. "Sharpay, this is my friend Chad. Chad, this is Sharpay, Gabriella's best friend."

"Hi," Chad said.

"Hi," she answered back. "Well, the party's on the beach, the bathrooms are upstairs, bedrooms are off limits and so is the hot tub."

"You have a hot tub?" Troy asked.

"Of course. It wouldn't be a beach house without one."

"And it's off limits why?"

"Because I said so, and if you so much as think about it, I will come after you and make sure you never disobey me ever again." Her scowl disappeared from her face and she smiled sweetly. "Follow me."

"I thought you said she was the queen of threats. That didn't scare me at all," Troy whispered to Gabriella.

"The scary part is that you have no idea _what_ she'll do."

As Troy thought about it, he realized Gabriella was right. The fact that he didn't know what Sharpay would do to him if he disobeyed her scared him.

"Remind me to _never_ get on Sharpay's bad side."

Gabriella giggled. "Will do."

/0\

It wasn't often that Troy found himself feeling self-conscious, especially around people he didn't know. Usually, he felt confident and cocky, knowing that he could be anyone he wanted to be when those around him knew nothing about him. But there was one problem: everyone knew what he was…or rather what he wasn't. It amazed him that the rich kids could sense that he wasn't one of them. They purposefully shunned him; made him know that he didn't belong nor was he wanted there.

It also wasn't often that Troy found himself getting jealous over a girl, but, for some strange reason, he was. For the past two hours, many of the guys at the party were purposefully trying to keep Gabriella away from him. It wouldn't have really bothered Troy much if it weren't for the fact that every time a guy touched or came close to touching her, he felt the green-eyed monster creeping up his back. It made no sense to him, though. She wasn't his to get jealous over.

Trying to make sense of what he was feeling, he thought that maybe it was just the lack of attention he was getting. He had been so used to being the center of attention that it was strange not receiving it. So, in an attempt to make that feeling go away, he tried to talk to Gabriella.

"Gabriella, can we…?"

"Hey, Gabriella, dance with me!"

But to no avail.

"Be right there!" She turned back to Troy. "What did you wanna say?"

"Nothing. It's nothing."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Go have fun with your friends."

Smiling softly, she walked away and left him alone. Sighing, Troy decided to go take a walk. He needed to clear his head. On the way, he passed dozens of couples either in the middle of making out or on the verge of screwing each other. Not wanting to see that, he kept walking until he was far enough away where the music and the chatter of people's conversations were just murmurs in the wind.

He found a rock to sit on and stared out at the ocean. He was still utterly confused about this jealous feeling that ran through him when he saw Gabriella with any other guy. He still did not know where it came from and why he was feeling it for a girl who wasn't his.

"Troy?"

He turned his head. "Hey."

"Hey." Gabriella sat down beside him; letting the waves be the only sound between them.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked, curious as to why the brunette was here with him and not back at the party with the guy she was dancing with.

"I noticed that you left and I wanted to see if you were all right."

"I'm fine, as you can see." He ran a hand through his hair. "I just needed some time to think."

"Oh. Well, I'll leave you to it, then."

"No," he said, grabbing her wrist. "Stay."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. It's fine."

She resumed her seat and they resumed their silence. A cool breeze floated through the air and Gabriella shivered, her body reminding her that she was only in a bikini and short shorts.

"You cold?"

"A little bit."

He moved closer to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.

"Better?"

"Yeah."

"Gabriella?"

"Hm?"

"I know this may seem a little…personal, but…what does your tattoo stand for?"

Gabriella sat silently for a while. She wasn't sure if she wanted to tell him. She'd already told him some things about her life, but he had yet to share any of his. But she guessed if she wanted him to trust her with the secrets of his past, then she would need to build it by telling him of hers. She sighed and moved a bit closer into his body heat.

"It's a Lotus flower. It was my Mother's favorite."

"Was?"

"She…_died_ when I was sixteen."

"Oh, I…I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "It's okay. It's no one's fault."

"Does it have some kind of meaning?"

She nodded. "My Mother once told me that it symbolizes strength and beauty; it's born beneath mud and the mulch, but it manages to break through all of that and reach the surface where it blooms into one of the most beautiful flowers in the world. But for me…it means more than just that."

"What do you mean?"

"For me, it symbolizes 'rebirth'. I've been through a lot in my life; so much that I couldn't even begin to describe it all, but I feel like the Lotus. I've managed to break through all the bad times in my life and come out stronger for it. I still have demons that I need to fight, but I'm working through it all."

Troy stared at the girl beside him. She knew what it was like to not have an easy life, but she still kept her head up; still managed to take control of her life. She was truly amazing.

"I'm guessing the letters spell out your Mother's name."

She shook her head. "Just the L.M."

"L.M.?"

"Luz Montez," she whispered and looked at him. "That was my Mother's name." She smiled sadly. "It means 'light'."

"So…what does," He looked at the other set of initials on her back, "A.M. stand for?"

"Alejandro Montez," she said, a slight pain in her voice.

"Who's that?"

"My brother."


	14. Chapter 13

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: I gotta thank my beta cause she catches things that I wouldn't have noticed like missing words. lol. thanks for the reviews.**

**Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 13

A brother. Gabriella has _a brother_.

Troy couldn't believe it, mostly because he'd never seen her brother…but then again he hadn't seen her father either. He knew her father existed because she was constantly complaining about him, but she hadn't once mentioned her brother. He found it hard to believe that she had one. If it weren't for the pained look on her face when she spoke of him, he wouldn't have gave that revelation much thought.

But was he still alive, or was he six feet under like her mother? He wanted to desperately ask her this question, but decided against it. It was obviously a sore subject and he didn't want to make her feel worse that she already was.

Comfort wasn't really something Troy was good at, but he knew when someone was hurting and she was. Hesitantly, he lightly brushed his fingers over her back. She shivered involuntarily, his touch sending chills down her spine, but he thought that she was still cold so he pulled her closer.

"We should get back," she said, standing from her spot beside him.

A feeling of loneliness passed through him before quickly disappearing. He didn't know where it had come from, but he didn't like it. Moving from his seat on the rock, he stood beside her and was surprised when she took his hand. He looked down at their joined hands then back up to her face; his cheeks heating up slightly when he saw the smile on her face. He was glad that it was dark enough so she couldn't see it.

"Chad and Sharpay seem to be getting along well," she said as they started back towards the house.

He chuckled. "Yeah. Chad owes me big time."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I once showed him a picture of you and Sharpay and he immediately took a liking to her."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He thought she was cute. Still don't know what, in his right mind, made him profess that she was cute, but I didn't bother to argue with him."

"Don't let Sharpay hear you say that."

"Say what?"

"That's she's not cute."

He chuckled. "Don't worry, I don't plan on it."

Silence fell in between them as they continued along the beach beneath the light of the moon. Gabriella looked up and sighed.

"It's so beautiful out here."

She stopped and turned towards the water. Troy fell into step beside her and glanced in her direction. A soft smile graced her lips as she continued to stare at the beauty of the night. His blue eyes watched her, intrigued with the seemingly innocent look on her face. For someone who appeared to have been through so much, she still had some sliver of innocence left in her. She was truly like the Lotus. Before he could realize what he was doing, his lips turned upward into an actual smile.

Feeling his eyes on her, she turned to him; surprised to see him smiling. Her shock was evident on her face and his smile slipped off his face, letting confusion take over.

"What?"

"Nothing, I just…you were smiling."

He shrugged. "So?"

"Well, you always grin or smirk, but never smile. I was beginning to think that you didn't know how to. I like it; you should smile more often."

He turned away from her. "I've never really had a reason to."

She smiled and stood on the tip of her toes so she could place a kiss on his cheek. "I'm glad I gave you something to smile about."

For the second time that night, Troy begun to feel something he hadn't felt before; a fluttering within his heart. It was a strange feeling that both excited and terrified him.

"You coming or not?"

Too lost in his thoughts, he hadn't even realized that she had walked away from him. Taking a deep breath, he turned and started towards her. Whatever it was that he was beginning to feel towards her, he wasn't sure if he liked it or not.

/0\

He was troubled.

His head was spinning in circles trying to figure out _why_ he was feeling all these strange things for Gabriella. He didn't want, no, he _refused_ to believe that he was developing real emotions for her. He spent his teenaged existence running from those types of feelings and had successfully evaded them; only feeling the smallest of emotions for his sister. He wasn't about to let his guard down and let her manage to slip into the walls he erected around his heart. Even Chad, who was so much like a brother to him, hadn't gotten through. He couldn't let Gabriella do what so many had failed to do in the past.

"Let me out here."

Gabriella glanced in the rearview mirror, confusion on her face. Chad turned around, also confused as to why Troy wanted to be let out now.

"What, am I invisible or are you just deaf? I said let me out," he growled, ignoring the hurt look on her face.

Pulling over, Chad stepped out to allow Troy the ability to exit the car. Taking a look around, Chad noticed the clutter of warehouses around and he realized what it was Troy was going to do. Before he could take a step away from him, Chad grabbed his arm.

"Do you really have to do this?" Chad asked, his voice low so Gabriella couldn't hear.

"You know me, Chad, I do it to forget and…there are things I need to forget."

"But come on. You know for a fact that she's gonna be up half the night worrying about you."

He shrugged. "So?"

"Troy…"

"Look, I gotta go. I'll see you around."

Ripping his arm out of Chad's grasp, Troy walked away, not once looking back. Chad sighed and felt sorry for the girl sitting in the driver's seat. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see that she cared about Troy—to what extent, though, not even he knew.

/0\

After dropping Chad off, Gabriella wandered back to her apartment alone. She wondered why Troy had decided to be left in the middle of the warehouse district of the city, but she wasn't sure if that was a question that would ever get answered. Walking into her empty apartment, she noticed that her answering machine was blinking and decided to check her mail box just to get her mind off of Troy.

"_Gabriella, it's Maximilian. I was wondering if you wanted to do something tomorrow. I'm not needed at all at the company and I thought that this would be a good opportunity to get to know each other. Call me back."_

She guessed it wouldn't be all that bad to find out more about her future husband, even if the only person she really wanted to get to know was her cocky apartment mate turned somewhat friend.

"_Gabriella, it's your Father. I don't know where you are, but we need to talk. Jennifer Michaels called me today and told me she saw you with some guy that wasn't Maximilian. I _want_ an explanation."_

_Oh, fuck._

She was screwed.

Jennifer Michaels was one of those girls that was a complete big mouth. If she saw something worth gossiping about, she would. She was also Gabriella's worse enemy. The two had hated each other for as long as she and Sharpay used to, but unlike Sharpay, Jennifer hadn't become friends with Gabriella. The feud between them had gotten worse. It was Jennifer that told her father of the fact that she was no longer a virgin. She could only pray that the girl didn't know that Troy was staying in her apartment with her.

Having something else to add onto her list of concerns, Gabriella went up to her room to take a quick shower and crash. Sleep, however, didn't come easy to her. She couldn't shake her concern for her apartment mate. He had been fine earlier, so what was it that was troubling him now? She wasn't sure how long she stayed awake, but the sound of the front door closing brought her out of her daze.

She quickly stood and went to the door of her bedroom. Troy stopped when he spotted her. His eyes were red; his hair a mess. A distant memory grasped her subconscious. She saw a different person standing before her; someone she knew very well. She wanted to say something, but she couldn't. If she did, she would be assuming something and her mother had always told her to never assume anything. So she kept it to herself.

"Hi," she said softly.

"Hey." He turned away from her. "You didn't have to wait up you know."

She nodded and started down the stairs. "I know, but…I couldn't sleep."

"Why?" he asked, looking at her cautiously.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I think…I think it's because I was worried about you." She stepped closer to him. "You were just acting so strange; I didn't know what to do."

"Sorry," he whispered.

"For what? You don't have anything to apologize for."

"For making you worry. I'm not worth it."

Smiling sadly, she took his hand. "Of course you are."

There was no denying that he was uncomfortable just by the way his body tensed when she grabbed his hand, but she wanted him to know something.

"Do you remember when you told me that if I ever wanted to talk, that you would be happy to listen?" He nodded. "Well, it works both ways. I'm here if you need someone."

"Thanks. I'll…keep that in mind."

He wasn't expecting it, so it caught him off guard when she wrapped her arms around his torso and buried her face in his chest. He hoped that she couldn't hear his heart pick up speed. He hesitated; unsure whether he should push her away or embrace her. In the end, he went for the latter and enclosed her small frame in his arms.

Gabriella's small smile widened when she felt him return the hug. He had become such an important part of her life in the past month and a half that he'd lived with her and she wanted him to know that. She wanted him to see that she would go against her own rules just to show him that she saw him as more than just someone she lived with. He was her friend.

**A/N: you're probably wondering why I didn't talk more about Gabriella's brother, that's because you will learn more about him later.**


	15. Chapter 14

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: Fast update :) thanks for the 15 reviews guys...girls. lmao ^_^ longest chapter in the story. 10 pages in Microsoft Word**

**Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 14

Did she want to see her father? No.

Was it in her best interest to do so? Yes.

She knew her father would not leave her alone until he was granted an audience with her. It was better to get it over and done with anyway. She already knew what he was going to say. She could hear the words 'mistake' and 'disappointment' slipping from his mouth already and he hadn't spoken yet. Gabriella watched with weary eyes as her father passed back and forth in front of a window that overlooked much of Los Angeles.

"I hope you have an explanation as to _who_ that was Jennifer saw you with."

"I do."

"Then explain."

"He's just a friend, Daddy. I am allowed to have male friends, aren't I?"

He sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Gabriella, to you, male friends are guys that you sleep with."

"That's not true."

"It is true. It's been true for the past few years."

"I've changed, Daddy. I'm not like that anymore. Why can't you see that?"

"Because you have yet to prove it to me."

Gabriella bit her lip and looked away. Prove it to him? She's been trying to prove it to him, but no matter how hard she tries, it's just never enough for him.

"I can only imagine what your Mother would think if she saw you now."

"Not like you'd care what she thinks," she whispered to herself.

"It's a good thing she's not here to see you this way. You'd break her heart."

"Just another thing you'd hate me for." She stood and started towards the door.

"Where do you think you're going? I'm not finished speaking with you."

"But I am with you."

She opened the door and left.

Blinded by tears, somehow Gabriella managed to walk the entire way back to her apartment—which was a good mile and a half. She knew she was probably getting looks, but she didn't care, she just wanted to get home. It would have been easier to just call Thomas to pick her up, but she was desperate to get as far away from her father as possible.

Slamming the door, she leant her forehead against it and fought her urge to cry.

_Don't cry. Don't you _dare_ fucking cry._

She didn't want to give into her need to just let it all out, but it was a battle that she wasn't strong enough to fight. Hitting her hand against the surface, she inwardly cursed herself for being so weak; for letting her father have complete control.

"Gabriella?"

She froze. She didn't expect him to be home; she had hoped that he wouldn't be. He was waiting for her to answer him, she knew he was, but she refused to turn around. She didn't want him to see her this way.

"Gabriella?"

He was closer than he had been. She wanted to tell him to leave her alone, but the words refused to leave her lips. She bit her bottom lip to force herself not to cry out.

"What's wrong?" he asked, placing his hand on her shoulder.

She shook her head.

"Come on, Gabriella, talk to me."

"Please, Troy, I just…I don't _want_ to talk about it."

He nodded, though he knew she couldn't see.

"If there's anything I can do…"

"Just…" she sighed and turned to him. "If I were your daughter, would you treat me as if I didn't matter?"

"No, of course not."

She looked up, tears falling from her mocha eyes. "Then why does he?"

He wiped her tears away. "I don't know, Gabriella. I really don't."

A strangled sob escaped her throat and she broke down. Not knowing what else to do, Troy brought her into his arms and held her. He wished he knew what to say, what to do, but he didn't. He wasn't use to comforting someone like this. His sister had been a strong girl and rarely cried. Gabriella had seemed that way at first, but he realized that Sharpay had been right; she was more vulnerable than she let on.

/0\

Not wanting her to be alone, Troy opted for her to go to work with him that night. She really hadn't wanted to, but she agreed to it anyway. She'd rather be with someone than alone. That was how she found herself sitting beside Troy watching surveillance cameras.

"I don't know how you do this all day long."

"At first, I was bored out of my mind, but after a while, I started making it a bit more interesting."

"How'd you do that?"

"I started to pretend like I was watching television."

"Huh?"

"Okay, you see this woman here," he said, pointing to a screen where a woman was trying to calm her screaming child. "Try and make up something you would think she's saying or thinking."

"Um…I-I don't know what to say."

"Here, I'll start." He looked at the screen. "She's most likely thinking, 'Will this kid ever shut up?'"

She laughed. "I think she's saying, 'If you stop screaming, I'll give you ice cream' but then thinking 'Please don't let anyone think I'm a bad mother.'"

He chuckled and looked at another screen. "Look at these two," he said referring to two girls that were carrying multiple bags. "How much money do you think they spent?"

"A good two hundred at least."

"Exactly what I was thinking. And it's exactly why I say you girls go crazy when you shop."

"I am not like that."

"But you are. You made me go nearly four _hours_ without taking a break."

"I didn't see you complaining about it at the end."

"That's because I got to see you in next to nothing."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm hungry."

He chuckled. "I go on break in like an hour. Think you could wait until then?"

"Yeah." She turned to him. "How is it that you haven't gotten yelled at for me being here?"

"Because my boss is a horny bastard and thinks that he has a chance of getting you into bed with him."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. When I called him and told him that I was bringing you with me, he literally said to me 'how good in bed is she?' Took me all my control not to curse him out."

"You would have cursed him out for me?"

"Well, yeah. No one's allowed to make those kind of comments towards you except me."

She laughed and leant her shoulder against his. "And I wouldn't have it any other way."

He looked at her and smiled. Gabriella had to admit, he had a _really_ nice smile. She smiled back and placed her head on his shoulder, continuing to watch to the monitors. Troy stared at the top of her head; his heart in a silent war with itself. He wanted to push her away, but then again…he didn't. He was conflicted and it was tearing him apart. Standing, he ignored the hurt and confused look her face and went to his bag that was hanging off of the door handle. He came back with a pack of cards in his hands.

"Blackjack."

She smiled and nodded, waiting for him to deal her two cards. She looked at her hand—a ten and a two appearing before her.

"Hit me."

He hit her lightly and she gave him a confused look. "You said 'hit you'."

She rolled her eyes. "You're such an idiot," she said with a faint smile on her face.

"I know."

After playing Blackjack for the next hour, a male that Gabriella had never seen before walked in through the door. He looked at Gabriella and smiled politely.

"Breaking the rules again, Bolton?"

"No. I asked Reggie and he said it was fine for me to bring her."

The man was African-American, but his skin was a bit darker than Chad's. He stood a head or two taller than Troy. He also seemed to have more decency than many of the guys she knew because he didn't look her over like most guys would have. Gabriella stood and outstretched her hand, smiling.

"Hi, I'm Gabriella."

He took her hand. "Zeke."

"Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too." He turned his attention back to Troy. "I'm guessing the only way that Reggie let you bring her is because he thinks he's getting some."

"That's exactly why."

"I don't know where he comes up with this stuff."

Troy shrugged. "Don't know, don't ask, don't care."

"Well…I'll see you in an hour then?"

"Yep, and then you can go back to your exciting job guarding the entrance."

"Hey, don't knock it. If you ask me, it's a lot more exciting than sitting in front of surveillance footage for eight hours out of the day."

"I make it exciting."

"If you say you play with yourself the entire time, I will hit you."

He scowled. "No."

"Good."

Shaking his head, Troy grabbed Gabriella's arm and led her out the door. "Have fun."

"I'll try."

Troy and Gabriella walked in silence as they headed for the food court. Gabriella took in her surroundings. She'd never actually been to a mall. Shopping for her was restricted to Rodeo Drive and that's all she'd ever known.

"So what do you wanna eat?" he asked as they came to a stop just outside the food court.

"Um." She looked around and settled her sights on Panda Express. "Chinese food sounds good."

"Then Panda Express it is."

They ordered their food and found a table to sit at. Things stayed quiet at first; Gabriella's attention mainly on taking everything in. Troy watched her with amusement in his eyes.

"You act as if you've never been to a mall."

"I haven't."

"Seriously?" She nodded. "Wow. I think you and Sharpay would have fun in here."

"Maybe, but Shar wouldn't step foot in here. No one I know…"

She stopped mid-sentence, realizing something. Not a single person she knew would ever step foot in a mall. That meant that people here wouldn't know her. That meant that she didn't have to worry about being seen with Troy.

"What?"

She smiled and shook her head. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

He was slightly confused about the smile on her face, but just shook it off. It couldn't be bad if she was smiling like that.

/0\

"How, the hell, do you do this every day?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I'm use to it."

Use to it? How could he be use to being bored for eight hours out of the day? She would do anything just to get rid of the boredom.

"I'm so bored," she whined.

"My shift will be over soon, so stop whining."

She huffed, but didn't open her mouth to say anything else. Her eyes scanned the screens in front of her, stopping when it came to a shot of one of the corridors where the bathrooms were. Her mouth dropped and she tapped Troy.

"What?" She pointed to the screen. He looked at what she was pointing at and his eyes widened. "Holy shit!"

The corridor was empty except for one guy and one girl. She was pushed against the wall, legs wrapped around his waist, his pants at his ankles. Though there was no sound, it wasn't hard for Troy and Gabriella to know what noises escaped the girl's lips.

"Fuck, that's hot," Troy commented.

Gabriella couldn't form words so she just nodded in response. Both of their eyes were trained on that one screen, unable to look away until the guy and girl were done. Gabriella's head was spinning and she had to force herself not to touch herself while Troy was still in the room. Troy was in the same predicament, except his was bit more painful.

"Um…wow…I've never seen that before."

"I wonder how they went unnoticed by people walking by."

Troy shrugged, more focused on trying to get the image out of his head. He closed his eyes and thought of anything that would make his erection go away.

_Dead puppies. Naked old women._ He shuddered at that one. _Old people kissing._

"Troy?"

_Fuck._

"Troy, are you okay?"

"No. I got a problem and you're _not_ helping."

"Oh, sorry."

Concentrating, he brought up memories of when he was younger and his grandparents used to kiss in front of him. That seemed to do the trick.

"I don't know how they can do that in public."

"When you're horny and desperate, you can do it anywhere."

"I'm guessing you're speaking from experience."

He nodded. "I am. Would you like to share your first experience with me?"

She laughed sarcastically. "No, thanks."

Usually, Troy would have shook off her rejection like it was nothing, but this time it was different; this time…it hurt. He didn't let it show though. He didn't want her to worry again.

"Hey, how about we go out tonight?"

"What, to like a club?"

"Yeah. I haven't been in a while."

"I guess we could. My shift ends at ten anyway."

"Good. I'll call Thomas and tell him to pick us up at eleven."

/0\

Although neither of them showed it, both were still reeling from the effects of watching two people have sex in a public place. They knew that the image was stuck in the back of their minds so they tried not to make eye contact. It would only make things harder if they did.

Standing by the bar, Gabriella moved to the beat as she looked around. Troy watched her from the corner of his eye and looked away every time she looked in his direction.

"You know," he started, leaning in so she could hear him over the music, "there was something I always wanted to ask you."

"What is it?"

"The first time I saw you, you were dancing with a few other girls. Have you ever…you know…_divulged_ in that?"

She quirked an eyebrow. "You mean, have I ever done another girl?"

"Yeah."

She nodded. "Once, back in high school. I went to this boarding school and I had a roommate who was a lesbian. I told her that I wasn't one and I wasn't planning on becoming one. She totally understood and left me to have my space. One night, though, we both got trashed and it just started off as harmless kissing. Next thing I know, I'm waking up in her arms, completely naked."

A smirk graced his features as he pictured it all playing in his mind. "Sounds like you had fun."

"I wouldn't know. I didn't remember."

He looked at her. "Just like you don't remember our night of fun?"

"I remember bits and pieces of that night. The night with Sara, yeah, I don't remember shit."

"Too bad. I would have loved a retelling."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course you would have, cause you're a perv who can't keep his dick in his pants."

In mock hurt, he put his hand on his heart. "That hurt, right here."

"Please."

"But seriously, you don't remember any of it."

Playfully, she pushed him away and grinned. Downing what was left of her drink, she took his hand and pulled him onto the dance floor.

"Whoa. Wait. I don't dance."

"Well, I do, so too bad."

Finding a space big enough, she stopped walking and started dancing. Her hips moved from side to side, calling to him. She turned and smiled, holding out her hand as if to say 'are you going to join me or not?'

Obliging, he took her hand and pulled her close. Unsure of what to do, he just followed her lead. Spinning abruptly, she pressed her backside against his crotch and he tried not to shudder involuntarily. He placed his hands on her waist in an attempt to control her movements, but she wouldn't allow it. In the end, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. He wanted her and he wanted her _badly_.

When the song was over, they found their way back to the bar and proceeded on the way towards complete alcohol stupor. Somewhere along the line, the bar had become so crowded that Troy had to stand behind her. It didn't help him that her hips had a mind of its own and moved to the beat, brushing her ass against his already hard erection. He buried his face into the juncture between her neck and her shoulder and tried not to take her right then and there.

"Troy?"

"Hm."

"I think I'm drunk."

He chuckled, glad to have her conversation be a distraction from his problem at hand. "Really? I hadn't noticed."

"Seriously, I think I am."

"Gabriella," he said picking his head up, "why does it matter?"

She turned around so she could face him and he was slightly disappointed by the removal of continuous pressure on his throbbing member. Leaning in close, she rubbed the tip of her nose against his ear.

"Because I'm horny," she whispered, "and I want you."

He nearly came in his pants at her confession. It didn't help that she ran her tongue over the shell of his ear to prove her point.

"Where do you wanna do this?"

"Let's go home. There's too many people here."

Nodding, he moved away from her and grabbed her hand, leading her out of the crowded club. Once in her awaiting limo, lips were on lips and hands touched whatever they could in a frantic motion. The need to undress the other was burning in them, but they needed to control themselves until they were safely in the comforts of their shared apartment.

They practically ran to the elevator once they reached the building. As they waited for the doors to open, he pushed her against the wall and attacked her neck with an onslaught of open-mouth kisses. Her fingers found his hair and tangled themselves in it. The ding of the elevator brought them back to the present moment and they quickly made their way inside, continuing their make out session on the way up.

Reaching their floor, Troy lifted her off the ground and carried her to the door. She wrapped her legs securely around his waist and bucked her hips against his. He groaned and bit her bottom lip, gently. Fumbling with the keys, he finally was able to figure out which one was the right one and got the door open. He kicked it close with his foot and pushed her against the nearest wall.

His mouth went back to her neck and nibbled on the skin, making sure that there would be marks later on. While his lips gave attention to her throat, his hands found her breasts beneath her shirt and squeezed them gently. Her fingers found the hem of his shirt and pushed it upwards before dragging her nails over his stomach. She traced every line of his perfect abs and wondered where did he find time to work out. But now was not the time to be asking such questions. Besides, her mind was too cloudy to correctly form words.

"Your room or mine?" he asked, his hot breath hitting her skin.

"It doesn't matter."

He nodded and carried her towards the stairs. He thought her room was the better choice. He had things in his room that he'd rather not have her see; things that he didn't want her to find out about.

**A/N: I love teasing you :D**


	16. Chapter 15

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: thank you all for the reviews. I promise, I will stop teasing you. lol. I would also like take a moment out to remember one of the greatest musical artists of all time, Michael Joseph Jackson. One year and he's still missed.**

**Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 15

Like awaking from a dream, some unknown force jostled Gabriella from her sleep. Trying to recollect what had happened only hours before, she continued to lie there until movement beside her alerted her that she was not alone in her bed. She shot up into a sitting position and was slightly relieved to find Troy sleeping beside her. It was still uncertain to her what exactly happened during the early hours of the morning, but that was pushed from her mind when she noticed the peaceful look on his face. That was one expression she'd never seen on his face.

Smiling softly, she was glad that he found some sort of peace. He always looked like something was troubling him and it made her worry. Asking him about it wouldn't help because she knew he wouldn't tell. Sighing, she raked her eyes over his face, down his neck and to his chest, where they stopped upon landing on the scar she'd forgotten was there. Being closer to it, she realized it was a bit bigger than she thought. Glancing back to his face, she waved a hand in front of his eyes to make sure he was still asleep. Slowly, she inched her hand towards the offending mark that marred Troy's otherwise gorgeous chest.

So close.

Almost there.

Gasping loudly, she was caught off guard when his hand shot out of nowhere and latched onto her wrist, stopping her completely. Her eyes went to his and her heart nearly stopped when she saw that his usual azure gaze was now midnight blue. It was darker than she'd ever seen it…and it scared her.

"T-Troy?"

"What, the fuck, do you think you're doing?" he asked, his voice malicious and cold.

"N-Nothing…I-I was just s-seeing if you were a-awake."

He sat up, his face only inches from hers. "Well I am."

Letting go of her arm, he slid out of the bed and went on a search for his shirt. Gabriella sat quietly, still terrified from the look in his eyes.

"Have you seen my shirt?"

She shook her head and glanced around. "No, I…" For the first time, she noticed that her clothes—along with his—were scattered throughout her room. "Troy, did we…?"

He shook his head. "No."

"Oh…that's…that's good."

He snorted. "For you maybe. For me, not so much."

She was slightly relieved to hear the humor in his voice, but she knew she wouldn't be fully relieved until she saw the normal coloring of his eyes again.

"What happened?"

He turned to her. "You passed out; that's what happened."

"I…I did?" she asked, her cheeks turning pink at the prospect of passing out right before sex.

"Yep, and I was right in the middle of fingering you."

Her face flushed more at the bluntness of his words. "Sorry," she mumbled as she grabbed a fist full of her sheets.

"It's okay, even though I did have to spend an immense amount of time getting reacquainted with my hand."

Looking up, she was met with the beautiful ocean blue of his eyes and she knew he was back to normal—at least the normal that she knew.

"Sorry. I really didn't expect to pass out."

Chuckling, he shook his head. "I don't think either of us expected it, but, hey, I was left with a _wonderful_ visual aid to help me."

His eyes ran over her barely clothed body and she looked down, finally realizing that she was only in her bra and panties. She brought her sheet up to cover herself and glared at him.

"Oh stop being so modest. I've seen all that and more, remember?"

"Doesn't mean I'm comfortable with it."

He shrugged. "Whatever. I'm hungry."

She watched him leave her room and waited until he was downstairs before getting up to close her door.

/0\

She was grinning.

Grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Yet, Gabriella couldn't figure out why.

"Sharpay, why are looking at me like that?"

"Because someone's been busy."

"What?"

"Have you looked in a mirror at all today?"

"Not…really. Why?"

Sharpay stood and grabbed Gabriella's wrist. She said nothing, but dragged Gabriella up to her bathroom. Pushing her in front of the mirror, she flipped the switch and watched as her best friend's face turned from confusion to shock. Peppered across her neck were medium sized purple marks.

"Oh…my…"

Giggling, Sharpay moved up beside Gabriella. "You've got hickeys all over your neck."

"But how did I…?"

Her eyes widened further—if that was even possible—as she realized where she'd gotten the love bites from.

"Fuck," she mumbled.

"So, who is he?"

"You already know him."

It was Sharpay's turn to be confused. She thought about it for a few moments before realizing what Gabriella had meant.

"Troy? Troy did _that_?"

"Apparently so."

"Holy shit. So…what, did you, like, sleep with him?"

"No."

"No? What do you mean '_no_'?"

"Um…I kind of…well, passed out."

Sharpay stared at Gabriella for a good minute before breaking into laughter. She could not believe what her friend had just told her.

"Are you serious? You passed out?"

"Yeah, I was drunk."

"Oh, that's fucking hilarious."

Gabriella glared. "It was embarrassing enough when Troy told me, there's no need to rub it even more in my face."

She stormed out of the bathroom and took a seat on her bed. Sharpay fought to control her laughter before going to join her.

"I'm so sorry, Gabs, I just…that's funny, I mean…how could you pass out right before fucking one of the hottest guys I've ever seen?"

She shrugged. "I was drunker than I thought, I guess."

"Man, to think you missed out on that."

"Nothing I haven't had before." The words slipped out before Gabriella could even register what she was saying.

"What?"

She looked at her best friend, shock on her face. "Shit."

"Spill Gabriella Marie."

Sighing, she turned fully to the blonde. "The first time Troy and I met, we met at that new club that you've been wanting to go to, but that was the day that you had to go visit your grandmother in San Fran so I went alone. He was watching me for a good ten minutes before I actually went over to him. By this time, I was beyond tipsy and on borderline drunk. He said some things, I said some things and the next thing I remember was he was screwing me from behind."

"Whoa. Whoa. _Whoa_. I know I said spill, but I did _not_ want the details."

"Sorry."

"Was he good?"

"Didn't you just…?"

"No, there's a difference. Asking 'was he good?' is requiring a 'yes' or 'no' answer. Asking for details is asking for _everything_."

"Oh…well…yeah, h-he was."

Sharpay grinned. "Lucky bitch."

Gabriella smiled and shook her head. "Changing subjects; have you called Chad back?"

"How did you…?"

"He was gushing the entire ride home that he couldn't believe you asked for his number."

Blushing, Sharpay looked away from Gabriella. "I did."

"And?"

"And I told him that I do wanna see him again."

"Aww. Shar!"

"I know it seems weird since I usually only date rich guys, but I'm sick of the arrogant bastards that I've been dating. Chad…he was so nice. He listened when I talked and I mean _really_ listened. He's so sweet and charming."

"Someone's smitten."

Sharpay smiled softly. "It's hard not to be."

Gabriella smiled, happy that her best friend found someone she likes and that would be good for her.

/0\

"You're not still mad at me are you?" Troy asked as they sat in Chad's living room.

Chad shook his head. "No. I want to be, but I'm not."

"You want to be?"

He sighed. "Troy…what you did…you didn't even care that Gabriella was worried about you. You wouldn't even give her a reason as to why you wanted to be dropped off in the middle of the warehouse district."

"And what was I supposed to say?"

"I don't know; something, _anything_. You could have lied to her, for all I care, but you still should have given her a reason so she wouldn't have to worry."

"I know it was stupid to make her worry, but…I just needed to forget some things."

"Did you at least apologize to her?"

"Of course. You know me, Chad, I'm not the type of person who wouldn't apologize."

Chad nodded. Troy maybe a complete jackass sometimes, but he wouldn't cause a woman emotional or physical pain without apologizing afterwards. He couldn't see them hurt or upset.

"So what kind of things did you need to forget so badly?"

"…Feelings…feelings that I shouldn't have."

"What do you mean?"

"In the two years that you've known me, have you ever seen me get jealous over a girl?"

"No."

"I haven't, _ever_, gotten jealous over a girl and then…that day, I did…and I have no idea why."

"Who was she?"

"Gabriella." He put his head in his hands. "And it made no sense. She's not mine, so why, the fuck, was I getting jealous every time a guy looked at her, talked to her or touched her?"

"Maybe it's because you like her."

"No." His head shot up and he glared. "Not possible."

"Why not? What's wrong with liking a girl?"

"_I_ do not like girls, I fuck them. End of story."

"Troy, you seriously can't expect yourself not to like a girl?"

"That's exactly what I expect."

"Okay…what if it's just an infatuation? What if you just feel this for her now, but it'll go away? Maybe you just need to get her out of your system."

"Maybe. But the only way I know how to get her out of my system would be to fuck her and she's not letting me."

"Sucks for you."

"Not like you're getting any."

"True, but unlike you, I can go a long period of time without having to stick my dick in someone."

Before Troy could respond, the front door of Chad's apartment swung open and in bounced Destiny. Finding her father, she raced towards him and climbed on him, settling herself in his lap.

"Hi, Daddy."

"Hi, Princess. Did you have fun today?"

She nodded. "Becca took me to the beach and we made a sand castle."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but the water washed it away."

"I'm sure it was a wonderful castle."

"It was. It was this big," she said holding her hand above herself.

A female laugh alerted them to the presence of Destiny's babysitter. "It wasn't that tall, Des."

"You sure?"

Becca nodded. "I'm sure."

Chad chuckled. "Why don't you go say goodbye to Becca and get ready to go to your grandparents?"

"Do I have to go?"

"Yes, you do. They haven't seen you in a while. Grandma Bernadette has a present for you since she won't see you on your birthday."

At the mention of a present, Destiny's eyes lit up and she clambered out of her father's lap. She ran up to Becca and gave her a hug before heading to her room. Chad stood and walked over to the teenager standing by the door.

"Thanks for watching her today."

"It was nothing, Mr. Danforth. You know how much I care for her."

He smiled and nodded, pulling out his wallet. He paid the teenager forty dollars—ten dollars for four hours—and bid her a goodbye.

"She was cute."

"Seriously, Troy."

"What? I said she was cute. I didn't say I wanted to do her."

Chad rolled his eyes. "I'd prefer if you keep all of that to yourself while my daughter is close by."

"Gotcha. But…speaking of cute girls, did Sharpay call you?"

Smiling, Chad nodded. "Yeah. She wants to see me again."

"Awesome. Looks like you lucked out."

"Sure does. I mean…she's loaded and yet she wants to go out with _me_. Me of all people."

"Just make sure you don't do something stupid."

"I'll make sure I don't," he said, chuckling. "I do not wanna make a fool of myself in front of someone like her."

"Well, good luck, my friend, cause you're gonna need it."


	17. Chapter 16

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: thank you for the reviews :) there are some plot thickeners in this chapter.**

**Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 16

A few hours after Sharpay left, Gabriella found herself in her mirror, staring at the purple bruises adorning her neck. As shocked as she had been when Sharpay pointed them out to her, she really didn't mind them. She only minded that there were so many of them. She wasn't exactly sure _why_ she felt that way, but she did. Hearing the front door close, she quickly left her bathroom and went downstairs. Upon seeing her, Troy grinned and went to meet her at the bottom of the stairs.

"Did you and Sharpay enjoy girl time?"

"Somewhat. And then I found out that _someone _had marked me up."

"Huh?" She pointed to the marks on her neck and he smirked. "Oh, yeah. Guess I couldn't control myself."

"You guess? I look like I got some kind of disease."

He chuckled. "I don't know what you're complaining about. I think you look downright sexy with them."

"You would since they're _your_ marks."

Shrugging, he walked closer to her and brushed a finger over one of the purple bruises. "What can I say? I couldn't help myself."

She shivered involuntarily. "Yeah…well…thanks to you, I had to go an hour with Sharpay grinning like a mad woman before she said anything to me."

"So Sharpay noticed them first?"

"Yep."

His finger continued to outline the mark. "Did you tell her how you got it?"

"Yeah."

He grinned. "And did you tell her what happened?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, and she laughed her ass off."

"Well it was funny."

"No it wasn't; it was embarrassing."

"You're just lucky I wasn't some creeper," he said, his face becoming serious.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, if I was just some random guy that you met, I could have raped you while you slept."

Her face paled. She hadn't realized it until he pointed it out to her. What if it hadn't been Troy? What if it had been some guy she'd just met? But then again…hadn't Troy been that random guy she'd just met a little over a month ago?

"Troy, can I ask you something?"

"Um…sure."

"When…when we first had sex…did you do anything to me after I went to sleep?"

"Oh, God no! I wouldn't even dream of it. I'm not that kinda guy, Gabriella. I wouldn't take advantage of a girl like that."

She smirked. "But you did take advantage of me. I was drunk and you still slept with me."

"Hey, you offered…both times."

Her eyes narrowed. "Still, that's taking advantage of me."

He sighed. "Fine. From now on, I'll refuse if you decide while you're drunk that you wanna fuck."

"Thank you."

"Now, if you don't mind, I need to go get ready for work."

"You want something to eat before you go?"

"No, thanks. I'll just get something while I'm there."

Dropping his hand from her neck, he gave her a small smirk before retreating to his room. Gabriella reached up, still feeling the phantom touch of his fingers. She hadn't even noticed his hand was still there until he dropped it. She, for some odd reason, missed the feeling. It was sort of comforting. Shaking those thoughts from her head, she went to the kitchen to make dinner for herself.

/0\

They wouldn't stop asking about her. Every word out of their mouths was 'how's Gabriella?' or 'is she free tonight?' or 'are you two dating?' and it was getting on his last nerve. He had the urge to answer 'yes' to that last question just so they would stop asking, but couldn't bring himself to do so. He was glad that he was able to shut himself up in the surveillance room and get away from all the questions. The only one that hadn't asked him anything about Gabriella was Zeke and he was glad that at least one of the males he worked with wasn't focused on getting into his friend's panties.

"Hey," Zeke said as he came into the room.

"Break time already?"

"Yep."

"Am I gonna expect to be bombarded with more questions about Gabriella?"

Zeke laughed. "Oh yeah. Especially from Reggie. He's still wondering when you're gonna set him up with her; says you still owe him for letting her come back here when she wasn't allowed to."

"He can keep dreaming."

"He _will_ keep dreaming."

"I don't even wanna know what goes on in his dreams."

"Me either. Hey, um…I know that everyone's been asking you about her and I know that you've been reluctant to say anything to them, but…are you two…you know, dating?"

Troy shook his head. "No."

"Oh, that's good, cause I…I wanted to know if maybe she would go out with me some time."

He couldn't believe that the one person who he thought wouldn't try to get a date out of him from Gabriella was doing just that. Jealousy raged through him, but he tried not to let it show. He didn't want any of these guys dating her; he didn't want them going anywhere near her, not when she—. He couldn't say she was his, because she wasn't. She wasn't his and that meant that if she wanted to go out with Zeke, she was free to do just that.

"I don't know; you have to ask her."

Troy stood and left the room. Instead of going to the food court to get some food, he found his way to the roof exit and sat against one of the glass tops that let light into the mall. Staring at the sky, he took out a cigarette and lit it. He didn't understand these feelings that Gabriella brought out in him. He didn't understand why he was getting jealous just because some guys at work wanted to go out with her. She was a free woman with no obligations to anyone, so why did he care who she dated?

_Maybe it's because you like her_

Chad's words rung clear through his head and he felt himself getting sick.

"Fuck!"

He did. He liked her.

"I can't like her. I just fucking can't."

Placing his head in his hands, he breathed deeply and tried to figure out a way to get rid of these feelings.

/0\

Gabriella sat on her couch reading a book and drinking a hot cup of tea. She didn't know when the last time she was able to do so, but she was glad she had that opportunity. As she was beginning to get into the story, her doorbell rung. She sent her door a questioning glance before getting up to answer it. When she opened it, she was met by the smiling face of an African American woman.

"May I help you?"

"Hi, I'm Taylor McKessie. I just moved in downstairs," she said, holding out her hand.

Gabriella smiled and took the offer. "I'm Gabriella Montez."

"It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Well, this is my first time in Los Angeles; maybe you could give me a tour of the city?"

"Sure. I'm free tomorrow; meet me downstairs at say…noon."

Taylor nodded. "That sounds good. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Wait," Gabriella called before Taylor could walk away. "Do you, maybe, wanna come in for some tea and just talk?"

"Yeah, sure."

Gabriella allowed the woman into her apartment and showed her the living room. Running into the kitchen, she poured Taylor a cup of chamomile tea and brought it out to her.

"Here you go."

"Thanks." Taylor took the cup from her and took a sip. "How long have you lived here?"

"Since I turned eighteen."

"Really?"

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah. Things at home weren't ideal so I had to move out."

"I know how you feel. As soon as I graduated high school, I took one step out the door and kept on walking."

"Home not the way you want it to be either?"

Taylor shook her head. "No. My parents were constantly fighting all the time and I was just sick of it. I told them on numerous occasions that they should just get a divorce and get it over with, but they never listened."

"Why?"

"The sex."

Her brow rose in amusement. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. Sad, but true."

"What happens when your Mom goes through menopause and she doesn't feel like it anymore?"

"Then they'll most likely get a divorce, but you never know."

"So where'd you move here from?"

"Philadelphia."

"Really? Wow, you're a long way from home."

"And that's how I intended it to be."

Their attention was grabbed by the sound of the front door opening and they stayed quiet until it closed. Taylor turned to Gabriella, confused slightly.

"Do you live here with someone else?"

"Yeah, but he's not supposed to be home yet."

Troy appeared seconds later and stopped when he saw Gabriella and a woman he didn't know in the living room.

"Uh, hi."

"Hey," Gabriella responded. "You're home early."

"I wasn't feeling too well."

"Oh, um, Troy, this is Taylor; she just moved in downstairs. Taylor, this is Troy; he lives with me."

"Hi, nice to meet you," Taylor said with a smile.

"Hi."

"You need anything?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm okay. I just need sleep."

"Okay."

"G'night."

"Night."

Gabriella watched him retreat to his room, a frown on her face. She hoped he wasn't coming down with something.

"So," Taylor said, alerting Gabriella to the fact that she wasn't alone, "is he like your boyfriend or something?"

"What? No! No, he's just a friend."

Taylor nodded. "Well, I better get going. I still have some unpacking that I need to do."

Gabriella followed her new neighbor to the door. "It was so nice talking to you."

"Same here. I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Of course."

"Bye."

"Bye."

After closing the door, Gabriella decided to go check on Troy. She knew he probably just wanted his privacy, but she just wanted to make sure he was truly okay.

"Troy," she called as she knocked on the door.

When there was no answer, she cautiously opened it and peered inside. She smiled when she found him fast asleep, still in his uniform. She was about to close the door when she spotted something shining in his hand. Taking slow steps, she crossed over to his bed and carefully slipped whatever it was from his grasp. It was a gold locket. There was nothing fancy about it; it was just in an oval shape with nothing written on it. Opening it, she found there was a picture of a girl inside.

_Who is she?_

Looking more closely, she found that the girl looked much like the man sleeping before her. That could only mean that this girl was his sister. But if she was, why was he so afraid to mention her? Closing the locket, she set it down on the night stand and left the room before he caught her prying.

As she went upstairs, her mind continued to think back on the picture of that girl; his sister. What happened to her and why does he not want anyone to know about her?


	18. Chapter 17

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: thank you for all the great reviews and for getting me past the two hundred mark on this story :) I do want to make one thing clear though for anyone who might think that because now that both Taylor and Zeke are in the story, I'll go back to canon and place them with Chad and Sharpay, respectively. That is not gonna happen. It's gonna be Chad with Sharpay and Taylor with another character (not saying yet ;) ) and Zeke by himself. I already explained this with one reviewer who thought that's what I was gonna do, and even though she was the only one who said anything about it, I just wanted to make sure everyone else knew that.**

**Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 17

Blue eyes met the sunlight as Troy awoke from a dream he had no recollection of. Taking a deep breath, he sat up and tried to think; what had that dream been about? He sighed, still unable to remember, and ran a hand through his hair. It was then that he realized he was missing something. Searching through his sheets, he tried to locate his locket, but was unable to do so. His head turned, scanning the room for any signs of the gold trinket. When he caught sight of it sitting on his night stand, he breathed a sigh of relief, but still wondered how it had gotten there. He swore he fell asleep with it in his hand. Fear spread through him; could she have come in and seen it?

_Shit. Shit. Shit._

He got out of bed and went into the kitchen. He hoped to find the brunette there, but there wasn't a single soul in sight. Going upstairs, he found her bedroom door open and the room itself empty. The bathroom door was ajar, but the light off. She wasn't home. Where had she gone? And why didn't she tell her she was leaving? He went back to the kitchen and found a note sitting on the counter by the fridge. He chuckled slightly, knowing she only left it there cause she knew the fridge would be the first place he'd go.

_Troy,_

_If you don't wake up before I leave, I just want you to know that I'm showing our new neighbor around the city. I made you breakfast. It's in the oven. I'll see you when I get back._

_-Gabriella._

His smile shifted as he read over the words 'our new neighbor'. Wasn't this _her _apartment? So wasn't Taylor _her_ new neighbor? Saying '_our_ new neighbor' was like her saying that he owned half of the apartment. But he didn't. He was only a temporary resident and she knew that. So what did this mean? Was she open to the thought of him never leaving? Or was it just the slip of the tongue? He sighed. As if he needed anything else on his mind, now he had this to think over.

/0\

As much as she wanted to focus on showing Taylor around the city, Gabriella couldn't get her mind off of Troy or the picture of the girl she'd seen last night. She wanted to ask him about it that morning, but she was surprised to find him still asleep. But even if he was awake, there would be no guarantee that he would tell her anything about the girl in the picture. It was his business. He had a choice in whether he wanted to tell her or not.

"Thinking about Troy?" Taylor asked as they walked down the streets of Los Angeles.

Gabriella blushed slightly. "How'd you figure?"

She shrugged. "You seemed to really worry about him last night. It would only make sense that you would be thinking about him now. Is he doing better than he was?"

"I don't know. I left before he woke, so I didn't get a chance to ask him."

"Oh."

"But I'm sure he's fine."

"How long have you two been living together?"

"A little over a month and a week."

"And how long have you two been friends?"

"Less than that."

"Really? So you willingly let a guy you didn't even know move into your apartment?"

"I know it sounds crazy, but…he was just so desperate and I really couldn't turn him away."

"But what if he were…"

"Some kind of rapist? Don't worry, my best friend asked me the same thing." She sighed. "I know it probably doesn't make any sense to you, but I just didn't feel like he would harm me in anyway. The first day we met, we'd gotten drunk and slept together and…while he could have killed me in my sleep, he didn't."

"I guess that is a good reason to trust him."

"Look, I'm well aware that what he didn't do that night does not make up for what could have happened afterwards, but I'm still here." She smiled softly. "He's been really kind and even though he has the tendency to make the most inappropriate comments, he can be really sweet when he wants to be."

"You like him, don't you?"

"Well, yeah. He's a really good friend."

"I mean as more than a friend."

"What? No, of course not."

"Uh-huh."

"I don't. Yes, he's good-looking and there for me when I need him, but...I don't think about him like that. I mean, sure I do think about jumping his bones—but what girl doesn't?—I just haven't thought about him as being more than just a friend."

"One day you will."

"And how can you be so sure?"

"Because I see it and, most likely, your best friend sees it. You may not now, but all it takes is that one moment for you to realize it."

Gabriella sighed. "If you say so."

"You don't believe me?"

"Of course I don't. Troy is just a friend to me."

"You say that now."

"Can we change the subject please?"

"Sure."

The possibility that she might like Troy hadn't crossed Gabriella's mind. She, truthfully, hadn't thought of him like that. He was just one of the few male friends that she had and she was so focused on keeping it that way that she didn't allow herself to think of him as becoming more. Besides, she was almost certain that he didn't think of her like that. He thought more about having sex with her than he thought about forming a real relationship with her. So even if she did manage to like him as more than a friend, it would most likely be one-sided.

/0\

When Gabriella came home, the first thing she noticed was the emptiness of the house. Had Troy left? Walking up to his door, she knocked and waited for an answer. When she received none, she knocked again. Maybe he hadn't heard her.

"One sec."

The door opened seconds later and she was greeted by his light blue eyes. A question lingered in them, but he didn't voice it.

"Hey, I just wanted to see if you were still here."

"Yeah, I was getting ready for work."

"Oh. Um…are you feeling better?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I just needed to sleep it off."

She smiled softly. "That's good."

"You need anything?"

"No, I was just checking up on you."

"Okay. I'll be out in a few minutes."

She nodded and he closed the door.

On the other side, Troy breathed a sigh of relief. If he hadn't have heard her knocking that second time around, he was sure she probably would have opened the door to make sure that he wasn't sleeping. Retreating back to his bed, he settled beside the night stand and continued to snort the three white lines sitting atop it.

He didn't know what he would have done if she had walked in on him doing this. Hell, he didn't know what _she _would have done if she had walked in on him doing this. He wasn't exactly sure what her take on illegal drugs were, but if they were as bad as her views on smoking, then he was screwed.

After the three lines were gone, he continued to get ready for work; something he had been doing before he decided to break out the cocaine. Making sure nothing criminalizing was left behind, he walked out of his room and found Gabriella in the living room. She smiled at him and patted the space beside her.

"You sure you're feeling okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"You just seem…" She trailed off before her eyes widened. "Oh, shit."

"What?"

"Troy, your nose is bleeding."

She stood and ran into the kitchen to get paper towel. Troy touched under his nose and felt the warm substance on his fingertips.

_Fuck._

"Here," she said, handing him the tissue.

He wiped his nose. "That's never happened before," he mumbled to himself.

"Maybe you should stay home for today."

He shook his head. "I already left early yesterday."

"But if you just say you're sick, I'm sure your boss won't mind."

She was right and he knew it, but he just didn't want to have to spend more time around her. He wanted to figure out a way to get rid of these feelings. He wanted to find a way to push her out of his heart.

"I'm fine, Gabriella, it's just a nose bleed."

"Troy…"

"I said I'm fine."

He stood and started towards the door, but she stopped him with her hand attached to his wrist. A fluttering sensation erupted in his stomach at her touch and he quickly disengaged his arm from her grasp. He saw the look of hurt pass over her face, but it was gone as quickly as it had arrived. She stood slowly and walked up to him.

"What's wrong, Troy? Please, tell me."

"There's nothing wrong," he answered, looking away from her. He couldn't take the look in her brown eyes. "I just rather not take a day off from work right now."

"Even if it's detrimental to your health?"

"I told you, there's nothing wrong with my health."

"You just had a nose bleed, which means that something had to happen to cause your blood vessels to pop. Usually that means you have a really high fever."

He sighed. "I'm _fine_, Gabriella. If you don't believe me, then here." He took her hand and placed it against his forehead. The butterflies in his stomach went haywire once more and he cursed himself for even thinking about letting her touch him. "See. I'm fine. No high fever or anything."

"Then why…?"

"I don't know. I just know that I'm not sick."

She removed her hand. "I guess you're not."

"Now, I gotta go or I'll be late."

"Okay."

She watched him leave; thousands of assumptions running through her head, but only one standing out. Her mind went back to a different time, a different place, a different person. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't. She wanted to ask him _why_, but she couldn't. Hope still ran through her; hope that her assumption was wrong.

_Please, don't let it be true._


	19. Chapter 18

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: So...I went to see The Last Airbender yesterday and...it sucked. I have a huge love for the cartoon series it's based from and M. Night just ruined it. I should have known given M. Night's record, but I didn't want to believe that he would ruin something that was basically laid out for him, but he did anyway. Even if he doesn't stop directing, he needs to stop writing screenplays; he obviously sucks at it. Ending my rant. For anyone under 16, I suggest you read this chapter at your own risk or skip it all together.**

**Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 18

She cleaned when she needed something to distract her.

It was a nervous habit that she inherited from her mother. Sometimes it came in handy, sometimes it drove her crazy. Sometimes it drove other people crazy…like it was doing to Sharpay at the current moment.

"Can you please _stop_ cleaning!"

"I'm sorry, I just…I need a distraction."

"A distraction from what?"

Biting her bottom lip, she turned and leant against the kitchen counter. Sharpay stood in the doorway, waiting for an answer. Gabriella knew if she didn't say something to someone, she would go nuts. Why not tell Sharpay? She was someone Gabriella could trust; someone she could confide in. It was only right to tell her what had been bothering her for the past two weeks.

"I think…I think Troy maybe…" She trailed off.

"Maybe what?"

"D-Doing drugs."

Sharpay gasped. "How can you be so sure?"

"He's been acting extremely secretive. Every time he's in his room, he has his door closed like he's doing something on the other side."

"You sure he's not just whacking off?"

"I don't know, but…a week ago, he got a nose bleed."

"What's so significant about a nose bleed?"

Gabriella shook her head. "Nevermind. Forget I said anything."

"Tell me," Sharpay demanded.

"Just forget it, Shar!"

Sharpay's mouth closed, her jaw setting itself in a tight line. She took a deep breath, pushing back the words she wanted to say and replaced them with a different set.

"I suggest you talk to him before you jump to conclusions."

"I know."

Gabriella knew how important it was to confront Troy. She knew if she didn't, she could be subconsciously judging him based off of something she believed instead of something she knew. But how was she to confront him? Was there a right way to approach someone and ask them if they regularly used drugs? Of course there wasn't. That was why Gabriella needed to rehearse what she was going to say to him; she needed to choose her words wisely. The wrong word could make it all backfire in her face.

/0\

He had only gone to Morris' to talk with Daisy, but when he had been told that she was indisposed, he asked for another. He needed to get his mind off of Gabriella. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't seem to stop the feelings she elicited in him. So he resorted to what he did best; pushed her away. He pushed her away so it wouldn't hurt when he figured out that she would never feel the same way. He pushed her away so it would hurt less when they finally went their separate ways.

"Am I boring you?" asked the strawberry blonde that was currently trying to get herself off.

He shook his head. "Sorry."

She crawled up to him. "Something on your mind, handsome?" she asked, brushing her finger over his cheek.

"Something I want to forget."

"I can make you forget," she whispered as her hands found his belt buckle. "Just relax and let me do all the work."

She slipped down to the floor and situated herself between his legs. He kept his eyes on her, watching her every move. His mind flashed back to the night he first met Gabriella and he struggled to keep it out of his thoughts, but as the prostitute kneeling in front of him pulled him out of his boxers and wrapped her lips around him, he couldn't help but see a different woman in front of him.

_He could see nothing but her mocha eyes staring back at him. She smiled seductively while her skilled hand ran up and down his shaft. It didn't take long for her to get him up, but then again, he was slightly drunk and extremely horny. Still staring into those beautiful brown eyes, he saw a mischievous gleam in them and wondered what she could be thinking about. He got his answers seconds later when she ran her tongue from the base of his penis to the tip before taking it all in her mouth._

_His eyes shut as a guttural groan escaped the back of his throat and his head hit the top of the seat behind him. His hands found her hair and he tangled his fingers through it. Feeling her teeth scrape lightly over his skin, he nearly lost it. His eyes opened wide as a blinding white light appeared before him. If she was this good at giving head, he could only _imagine_ what she was like in the sack._

"_Fuck."_

_Tightening his grip on her hair, he found himself, unintentionally, pushing her head further down and thrusting his hips. He could hear her gagging, but he was too far gone to care._

_He was so close._

_Just a few more seconds._

_He just needed something else to stimulate him and that's when he felt it; her dainty fingers were playing with his balls. At that, he lost it. He held her head in place as he came in her mouth. She dug her fingernails into his thigh and didn't let up until he was finished. Letting go of her hair, he watched as she sat back and swallowed what was in her mouth, wiping off any remnants that was left on her lips with her tongue. As disgusting as it was, he found it oddly sexy and he pulled her up to him; capturing her lips in a soft kiss._

Coming back to the present, Troy was strangely disappointed that the female before him wasn't the female he wanted. The strawberry blonde smiled up at him as she wiped what was left of his seamen off her lips with the back of her hand. She stood up and tried to kiss him, but he moved out of the way. He placed himself back in his pants and reached into his pocket to retrieve the money he owed her.

"Finished already? I was just getting started."

"You weren't helping with anything, believe me."

She took the money from him and sat on the bed, watching as he walked out the door.

As he walked the hallway to the exit, he caught a glimpse into a room that someone had decided to leave the door open to. He wasn't surprised to find Daisy being screwed by some guy, but he was surprised to find a black and blue mark on one of her eyes. Her cerulean irises met his azure ones and he could see her pleading for him to help her. Help her with what? Who had given her that black eye?

"Do you fucking mind?"

His head shot up and he was met by the scowling face of the guy who was fucking one of Troy's best friends.

"Sorry."

The apology was directed at both the guy and the blonde. He knew she wanted him to help her, but he didn't know how. Sending her one more apologetic look, he walked away.

/0\

She had fallen asleep on the couch; tired from the cleaning she had done. When she awoke, she awoke to the sound of his shower running and knew he was home. Heading to the kitchen, she quickly made herself some tea, knowing she wouldn't be able to confront him if her nerves were going haywire. But as she was turning to head back to the living room, he appeared out of nowhere and nearly made her spill her hot drink all over him.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"It's fine. Nothing spilled so…"

Lifting her eyes, her attention was caught by the fact that he was shirtless and his scar was staring her dead in the face. It took everything in her not to reach for it. The memory of the last time she tried was still fresh in her mind.

"Um…" She brought her eyes to his and smiled slightly. "H-How was your day?"

He cocked an eyebrow. "Fine."

"That's…" She swallowed the lump in her throat, "good. Can you, um, can you go put on a shirt?"

He grinned. "Why? Is my sexy body making you all hot and bothered?" he asked, moving closer to her.

"I…" She blushed.

Finding that he liked when she blushed, he started moving closer again just so he could see the pink tint darken. Her head was spinning. She had been horny for days and he wasn't helping. Unable to stop herself, she placed a hand on his chest to stop him from coming any closer, but she didn't realize where she put it until it was too late. Her small hand came to rest right on his scar and the sexual tension turned into regular tension.

Gabriella stared at her hand, unable to believe that she just did that. Glancing up, she found herself staring into those sapphire colored eyes again and she quickly removed her hand.

"I'm sorry, I didn't…"

He shook his head. "It's fine."

He moved past her and made his way to the fridge. She stood in her spot, but turned sideways to watch him. What was it about that mark that caused him to go rigid like that?

"Troy?"

"What?"

"H-How did you get that?"

She could see the muscles in his back tighten and she wished she would have never asked it. He slammed his hand against the door of the refrigerator causing her to jump slightly.

"Why does it matter?"

"It…it doesn't. I was just curious."

"Ever heard of curiosity killed the cat?"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

He turned and walked towards her. "You're right, you shouldn't have."

His shoulder bumped hers, hard, and he went back into his room. She was still in that spot when he came out minutes later; this time with a shirt on. He said nothing to her; he just left. Gabriella cursed herself for asking him about something that he clearly didn't want to talk about.

/0\

Zeke had been bugging him on whether or not he asked Gabriella if she wanted to go out with him, but Troy had truthfully told him he hadn't. It made no sense to lie about something and get Zeke's hopes up. Besides, as much as he hated to admit it, Troy didn't want her to. For the moment, Gabriella was his and he wanted it to stay like that. As much as he wanted to push her away, there was a small part inside of him that wanted to keep her close.

A knock came at the door, but he didn't answer it. It came again and he sighed, realizing he had to answer it or the knocking would continue.

"Enter." He heard the door open, followed by footsteps, but didn't turn. "You know, Zeke, if you keep asking me about Gabriella, I might have to punch you in the face."

"Good to know I made an impression."

He turned, a guarded look in his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

She smiled softly. "Can we talk?"

"No. Now leave." He turned back to the screens.

"Please, Troy."

Growling, he stood and faced her. "What, the fuck, do you want?"

"I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry for asking you about your scar. I just…I wanted to know what happened that hurt you so bad; what happened that makes you tense every time someone asks about it?"

"You wanna talk about scars, let's talk about the one you have."

"What?"

Effectively avoiding her question about him, he motioned to her left arm. "The one on your wrist."

"Oh…uh, I fell off my bike when I was younger."

He moved closer to her and grabbed her left arm. He pushed her sleeve back and looked at the faint line on her wrist. It was obvious where she truly got this scar from; at least for him it was. He'd held that blade over his skin a few times in his life.

"Bike accident, huh? Looks pretty straight for just a bike accident."

"Well, that's what it's from."

He looked into her eyes. "I'm not stupid, Gabriella. I know where this is from."

"Y-You do?"

Nodding, he lifted up his sleeve and revealed a few faint lines on his arm. "I've been down that road before. Though I've never seen one that's still clear enough to notice."

"It's not that old, that's why."

"How old?"

"A year. Sharpay found out and forced me to stop or she would kick my ass."

He chuckled. "I wouldn't put that past her."

She smiled and watched as he dragged his finger over the line on her wrist. Suddenly, something changed. Instead of his finger staying on her wrist, it moved up her arm then back down to her palm. He traced meaningless circles in her hand until she could clearly make out him spelling 'I want to fuck you'. A chill ran through her spine and she looked up into his eyes, the normal azure color turning a bit darker, but not as dark as the sapphire color she'd seen earlier.

His gaze flickered between her eyes and her lips before he leant down and captured her mouth. The kiss was soft but passionate. It left her wanting more; left her craving him. Her fingers soon found his hair as his found the curve of her ass. He ran his hands over her backside before gripping her cheeks and lifting her off the ground; pushing her against the door. Without much encouragement, she wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him closer to her. Moving from her mouth, his lips found her neck and began to work hard at marking her. This time, it wouldn't be for nothing. This time, she would remember how she got it and, maybe, wear it with pride.

Pulling away from the door, he carried her over to the desk where the surveillance screens were and gently deposited her on it. His hands found the hem of her shirt and pushed it up. He grabbed her sides and yanked her towards him. He didn't care if someone came walking in on them, he was determined to fuck her. He'd been waiting for too long for this. Removing her shirt, he threw it in some unknown direction before reattaching their lips.

Like the night when she passed out on him, her fingers found the contours of his beautiful abs and traced each line lightly. She still had to ask him how he was able to find time to get this fit. Finding his shirt to be a distraction, she quickly got rid of it; pulling it over his head and throwing it to join hers in some dark corner of the room. Looking over his naked chest, she ran a finger over each and every crease of his abs, dipping it into his belly button.

He watched her as she slid her hand up his chest, stopping when she reached his scar. She looked up at him, her brown eyes asking for permission. He nodded and she traced the scar from the bottom of his left pectoral to the right side of his collar bone. Catching them both off guard, she did it again, but this time with her tongue. A soft moan escaped his lips and he dug his fingertips into her sides. After running the length of his scar, she attached her mouth to his neck, intending on marking him just as he had did to her.

While she nibbled on his skin, her fingers found the button of his pants and went to work with getting his pants undone. Wanting to taste her some more, he recaptured her lips and plunged his tongue inside her mouth. Neither could believe that this was happening now, but neither was eager to stop it. Reaching behind her, he undid the clasp of her bra and she let the material fall away from her. His hands found her breasts and he ran his thumbs over each of her nipples before pinching them to make them hard.

A soft moan escaped her throat, but she didn't let him distract her from her task at hand. She pushed down his pants and his boxers, setting him free, and gripped his shaft tightly. He broke away from her lips and looked down, watching her hand stroke him.

"Shit, that feels good."

Attaching his lips to a nipple, he suckled furiously on the bud as his fingers found their way to her panties. He pushed the material to the side and entered one digit. She threw her head back and sucked in a breath. As a reaction, her hips bucked and he took that as a sign to keep going. While his finger got to work inside her, his thumb caressed her clit sending her over the edge.

"Troy…"

Hearing her say his name, his animal instincts took over and he pulled her off the table. He turned her around and bent her over. He removed her skirt and panties before thrusting into her. She had to bite her lip to force herself not to scream. One of his hands wrapped itself in her hair while the other held onto her waist.

By the fifth thrust, Gabriella was seeing stars. She was close; oh so close. Even as she went through her first orgasm, he didn't stop, easing her on her way to a second. He leant over her, placing both his hands on the table beside hers. He buried his face into the back of her neck and continued to penetrate her. Feeling himself close to coming, he bit down on the juncture between her neck and her shoulder and quickened his pace.

Moans escaped Gabriella. She didn't want this to stop; didn't want him to finish. She'd never felt anything like this before. She could vaguely remember their first time together, but it wasn't _nothing_ compared to this. Reaching back, she wound her fingers through his hair and grasped it hard as she came. He continued to ride her through her orgasm, wishing by some miracle that time could stop while he was safely nestled inside of her.

He pulled out of her after her walls had let up on their vice grip and kissed his way down her back until he reached her tattoo. He ran a hand over it before kissing it softly and standing up. Her legs felt like jelly and she leant against the table, waiting for them to regain their strength.

His own body feeling weak, he quickly pulled up his pants and settled himself on the chair. He'd never, in his life, had sex like that. It was exhilarating and tiring at the same time. But it was the best he'd ever had.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah."

Kneeling to the floor, she held onto the table for support as she retrieved her skirt and panties. He watched her as she began to redress and went on a search for both their shirts.

"It was a car accident."

She turned to him, confusion written on her face. "What?"

He licked his lips before continuing. He knew he would be unable to tell her everything, but at least he could tell her part of it. He could at least bear part of his soul to her after she'd willingly and soberly given him a part of her.

"I was in a car accident…when I was eleven. I barely made it out with my life; the one driving the car…didn't." He touched the scar on his chest. "I had a piece of the window lodged in my chest. The wound was…a lot larger than this, but shrunk as it started to heal. I also broke my arm in three places and fractured a rib. I was lucky. Had I been a bit taller and not wearing my seat belt, I would have come out with more than a scar, a broken arm and a fractured rib."

She walked over to him and straddled him, placing her hand over his on his chest. She'd never been in a car accident before, but could only imagine how scared he was, especially being eleven years old. Saying nothing, she ran her hand through his hair and smiled sadly at him.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For prying in the first place. It was apparently a hard time for you and I just forced myself in there."

He shook his head. "It's fine."

Leaning in, she kissed him. She didn't know why she kissed him, but she didn't regret doing it. Their friendship had been unconventional from the start. What was one kiss to either of them? But when she broke away, she knew it meant something to him. The look in his azure eyes was enough to convince her of that. It was also enough to cause something to stir within her stomach.

Butterflies?

Really?

She didn't think those ever existed, but now staring into Troy's eyes and feeling the fluttering sensation inside of her, she knew that they did and they only meant one thing: he'd just become more than just a friend to her.


	20. Chapter 19

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: Glad to see you all liked Chapter 18 ;) Happy 4th of July to all my fellow Americans.**

**Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 19

She was on edge and had been for a few days.

Almost two weeks had passed since that night in the surveillance office but they hadn't been intimate again. He actually seemed to be avoiding her. She wondered if it had anything to do with the look in his eyes after she'd kissed him. It was so soft, so…loving. Could it be possible that he felt more than just attraction to her? As much as she wanted to ask, she couldn't. She knew how he was when it came to revealing something he didn't want anyone to know. So she could only sit back and continue to wonder what was going on inside that pretty head of his.

Today, however, she had to push all thoughts of him to the back of her mind. Today, she had to focus all thoughts on Maximilian and her Father since she was having lunch with both of them. She really didn't want to, but she had to.

"Where are you going today?" Troy asked, appearing in the doorway of her bathroom.

The fact that he was speaking to her had caught her off guard. The fact that he was standing there without a shirt on made it even more awkward. She stared at his reflection in her mirror; her eyes roaming over his bare chest. Her gaze flickered to his belly button and the line of hair that descended into his jeans. If she were any other girl, she would be imagining how big he was, but she already knew; she had her hand wrapped around it only two weeks ago. She could feel her cheeks and neck heating up, but hoped he hadn't noticed.

"Gabriella, you okay?"

Snapping out of her dirty thoughts, she nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. And if you must know, I'm having dinner with my Father."

"Seeing him again?"

She'd just seen her father a few days before to discuss the date for the wedding. Of course, Troy didn't know that, he just knew she went to see her father.

"Yes, is that a problem?"

"No, it's just…for someone who doesn't have a great relationship with her Father, you seem to be seeing him a lot."

"It's mostly business related," she said, lying through her teeth. Yeah, business related meaning she was in the process of selling her soul for her father's company.

"So, what, are you gonna be running his company someday?"

"I guess you can say that."

"Is that skirt for me?"

She looked down at her mini skirt. It was actually for Maximilian, but it was only because her father had given her instructions to dress this way. He said he wanted her to wear something that would attract and keep Maximilian's attention. He hadn't said why, and she hadn't bothered to ask. She already knew he wouldn't tell her.

She smirked, glad that he was returning back to his normal self. "No, it's not."

"Well, it can't possibly be for your Dad, unless…you know, you're into that kind of stuff."

"Ew! I'm _definitely_ not into that."

"Then why are you wearing a skirt that short?"

She shrugged. "Just because. Is it wrong to wear a skirt this short?"

"No. Just don't bend down."

"Don't worry, I won't."

The conversation ended there and she continued to apply make-up to her face. She was slightly aware that he was still watching her, but made no move to acknowledge him any further. It wasn't until he moved up behind her did she take her eyes off her own reflection. He took the eye shadow from her hands and gazed at her in the mirror.

"You don't need all of this gunk on your face," he said and turned her to him.

Taking a wash cloth, he turned on the faucet and wet part of it before proceeding to wash her make-up off her face. When he was finished, he turned her back around and she looked at her image in the mirror. He leant down to her ear, not once breaking eye contact with her.

"Why hide a pretty face under all that crap?"

She turned back to him. "Why?"

"Why what?" he asked, nuzzling his nose against her neck.

"Why are you not avoiding me anymore?"

He backed up slightly. "I've missed talking to you."

She smiled softly. "I've missed talking to you, too."

/0\

Somehow, after Troy's revelation, she found herself being pinned against her sink with his mouth biting the skin of her neck and his fingers embedded deep inside her. It made her twenty minutes late to her meeting with her father and Maximilian, but she didn't care. She was enjoying herself too much to even give the meeting much thought.

Her tardiness, however, was frowned upon by her father. His disapproval was evident on his face and was not hard to miss. Gabriella wondered if Maximilian had caught it, and was he choosing to ignore it or was he really that oblivious?

"Gabriella, can I speak to you in private?" her father asked as he stood.

"Um, sure."

She stood and followed him towards the back of the restaurant where the bathrooms were. He turned to her, his dark brown eyes burning holes into her.

"Are you _trying_ to ruin this engagement?"

"I don't… **.** Dad, what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the large hickey on your neck."

"What?"

"Don't play dumb with me. Is it from that guy, the one Jennifer saw you with, the one that you said was only a _friend_?"

"No, I…"

"Can't you just, for a couple of months, go without having to spread your legs? My God. Next thing I know you'll be pregnant with some other man's child."

"I'm on the pill, Daddy."

"I guess that's _one_ good thing you've done."

She took a deep breath and held back her tears. She wouldn't cry in front of him. If he wanted to be the heartless bastard that he was, he could go right ahead, but she would not show weakness in front of him. He hated weakness.

"Go cover that up, please."

He went back to the table while she went inside the woman's bathroom. Tears fell from her eyes, but she did not cry out. She was going to be stronger than this. Taking her make-up kit out of her purse, she proceeded to cover up the purple mark on her neck. She was lucky that she never went anywhere without it despite the fact that she wore none at the moment. She would have to speak to Troy about the bruise later, but right now she needed to focus on the task at hand.

Returning to her seat, she avoided her father's gaze and sat down, smiling at Maximilian. Even though she didn't want to marry him, she found that Maximilian's company wasn't all that bad. She wouldn't mind being just friends with him.

"Gabriella, I've found it odd that I've never met your Mother," Maximilian said, not realizing the line he was crossing.

"She's dead, that's why," she said bluntly.

"Oh. I'm so sorry." He turned to Jorge. "How long ago did she pass?"

"Going on five years."

"I can only imagine how it's affected you."

"It's been hard coping, but I've managed to make it through."

Maximilian turned his attention back to Gabriella. "How about you? How have you been coping with her death?"

"She's made some mistakes," her father answered before she had a chance to, "but we're both hoping that with this marriage, it'll be the start of a fresh future for her."

Gabriella's eyes locked with Maximilian's. He knew the truth behind the wedding; she'd told him the truth as to why she was agreeing on marrying him just like he had told her why he was marrying her. They both had something to lose if they didn't.

After another hour of just conversation, Maximilian had to excuse himself; he had things he needed to take care of and rest he needed to take for the next morning. He bid goodbye to Gabriella and her father, leaving them alone. Once Maximilian was gone, Jorge said nothing to his daughter. Instead, he paid the bill and stood to leave. She followed. Something told her not to, but she did anyway.

When they were outside, he turned to her and grabbed her wrist. The look in his eyes was enough to make her heart pound faster within her chest.

"I want to make one thing clear, Gabriella; if you want to fuck whoever for the time being, go right ahead, but do _not_ let Maximilian find out and I expect you to fake your virginity for him. I do not need for him and his family to know that my daughter acts like a common whore."

Gabriella watched him leave. She was tired of him treating her this way. She could only hope that once she married Maximilian that he would finally accept her and treat her the way she should be treated.

/0\

He didn't have to see her face to know that she was in a bad mood; the force in which she closed the door was enough to tell him that. Glancing her way, he could make out the look of frustration on her face. He could also tell that she was trying hard not to cry.

"How was it?" he asked.

"Horrible…thanks to you."

"Me? What I'd do?"

She walked into the kitchen and wet a piece of paper towel, putting it to her neck to wipe off the make-up. His mouth opened to form an 'O' and she rolled her eyes.

"I don't get what the big deal about it is, though. It's just a hickey."

"Just a hickey? Troy, to my Dad, that isn't _just_ a hickey. It's the 'stick my nose into my daughter's sex life' mark. You should have seen his face when he saw it. He looked like he was about to kill me. It's bad enough that he knows about you, but he doesn't need to think that I'm sleeping with you."

"Why is it bad that he knows about me?"

She bit her lip. "It just is."

"Tell me the truth, Gabriella. Why is it so bad that he knows about me?"

The truth? The truth was that she was engaged to be married to a guy that she didn't love while living with a guy that she might be falling for. She couldn't tell him that. She wanted to keep Maximilian a secret from Troy as long as possible.

"The truth is that…I knew if he knew about you, he would immediately jump to the conclusion that I was sleeping with you."

"I still don't see the problem."

"Don't you get it, Troy? He thinks I'm a slut," she said, her voice breaking when she got to the word 'slut'. "He thinks that I'll spread my legs for any guy I want and that's not me…not anymore." She said the last part quietly, not really intending him to hear her, but he did anyway. "I'm trying so hard to let him see that I'm not the person I was when I was a teenager, but he just won't believe me."

"Then why are you still trying?"

"Because he's all I have; he's the only family I have left."

Getting up from his spot on the couch, he walked into the kitchen and came to stand in front of her. She kept her eyes on the floor, trying to fight the urge to cry. Placing his fingers beneath her chin, he lifted her head and made her look at him.

"What happened to your brother?"

Her eyes narrowed. "He's dead…just like my Mother."

She broke away from him and went up to her room.

/0\

Troy sat in his room with his back against his headboard. He was still reeling from what Gabriella had relayed to him. He'd been wondering since Sharpay's beach party what had happened to Alejandro Montez, but he didn't think it would be this serious. She, like him, had lost people important to her and the only person she had left was someone who couldn't give two shits about her.

Sighing, he got up and ventured to her room. He could hear her crying from the other side and his heart sunk. He knew he should have just turned away; shouldn't have let his guard down for this girl, but he couldn't possibly let her cry alone. Knocking a few times to let her know he was coming in, he opened the door and slipped into the fairly dark room.

He found her sitting on the floor, hunched over and tears falling from her eyes. Placing himself beside her, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and kissed her temple. She threw her arms around his neck and straddled his legs; her face buried in the crook of his neck. He placed on hand on the back of her head and the other on the small of her back; rubbing circles with his thumb on her skin.

"What are you trying to get from him?" he asked, referring to her father.

"Approval. He's never wanted me, not even when I was a baby. He only tolerated me because my Mother made him. She and Alejandro were the ones that he loved, not me. When they died and he got left with me, his hatred for me increased tenfold. The only reason why he's even speaking to me now is because I'm the only person he has left to take care of his company when he retires."

"And he can't even love you for the sheer fact that you're the only thing he has left of his wife?"

She shook her head. "No, though I suspect it's because my Mother's death hit him harder than my brother's."

"Why? How did she die?"

Biting her lip, she forced herself not to start crying again and gripped the fabric of his shirt. She really didn't want to relive the day her mother died. She tried so hard to forget it.

"It's okay if you don't wanna tell. I know it must be hard for you."

"It is."

"How hard did it hit your Dad?"

"So hard he didn't even put her name on her tombstone."

"What? That doesn't…"

"Believe me, Troy; if you knew what happened, you'd understand why."

"So basically, he hated her in the end?"

She nodded her head. "Hated her for leaving him…but loved her because he couldn't possibly love anyone else as much as he did her. He was completely and totally devoted to her. He would do anything for her and that was the only reason why he even bothered to interact with me. But once she was dead and buried, he treated me the way he always wanted to."

"That doesn't explain his animosity towards you."

"He never wanted a daughter. He only wanted sons, and even though Alejandro was born before me, that didn't stop my Father from hating me."

"So why does he want you to run his company now?"

He doesn't. He just needed her to keep the company in the family; needed her as a bargaining chip to make sure this merger went the way he wanted it.

"To keep the company in the family. I guess he'd rather give it to me than to someone he doesn't know."

"I guess that does make sense. I just...I don't think him hurting you emotionally is worth it."

"I know, but what else can I do?"

Sighing, Troy brought her closer to him and rubbed her back. He wanted to tell her that she could stop trying to earn her father's approval, but he doubted that would make her feel better. He opted to stay quiet and just hold her until she fell asleep.


	21. Chapter 20

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: thanks for the reviews. Right now, the Northeastern part of the country is going through a mean heat wave and it's just miserable. Of course, I was stupid enough to go out in the heat wave on Tuesday...but I had a perfectly good reason to. Four words: Six Flags Great Adventure. Home to the fastest and tallest roller coaster in the world: Kingda Ka. And I got to ride that bad boy three times. ;)**

**Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 20

_Silent as a mouse, Gabriella climbed over the fencing surrounding her childhood home and made her way over to the tree sitting outside her bedroom window. She looked around for any signs of the workers before climbing up. She always left her windows open, so it was easy to get inside once she reached the second floor. Making sure she didn't make a sound, she carefully placed her feet on the ground and closed the window. She'd made it safely, and without incident, back to her room without anyone knowing—though it wasn't like anyone cared._

_Glancing at her clock, she had fifteen minutes before her mother got up to get ready to go for her therapy session, which gave Gabriella ten minutes to shower and get ready to head back to school. As much as she loved spring break, she wanted to get as far away from her house as possible. Grabbing a clean bra and panties, she walked out of her room and towards the bathroom._

_After she showered, she went in the direction of her parents' room to wake her mother. She knew if her mother wasn't awake already then she would be late for her yoga class. Knocking on the closed door, Gabriella waited for an answer._

"_Mom? Mom, you're gonna be late for yoga!" _

_When no answer came, she opened the door and peered inside. The entire room was dark due to the fact that the blinds were still closed; which could only mean that her father hadn't slept in the room that night._

"_Mom," she called as she found her way to the bed._

_She shook her mother forcefully, but her mother still did not rise. Going over to the windows, Gabriella managed to get the blinds open; hoping the light would wake her. But when she turned back to the bed, the brunette's entire body went rigid and her heart beat picked up. There, lying face up, was her mother; eyes open, mouth ajar...bullet wound in her temple. Gabriella's breathing quickened as she backed as far away from the sight as she could._

_Tears spilled from her eyes as she tried to find words; tried to call for help. But her voice was lost in the panic attack she was having. Pressing her body against the wall, she slid down it as sobs escaped her lips. Her mother...was gone._

"Gabriella, wake up!"

Her vision was blurry when she opened her eyes, but she could make out the light blue of Troy's eyes hovering over her. He wiped away the tears that blinded her and swept her into his arms, holding her close as she began to cry.

"It's okay; it was only a dream."

A dream? No, it was more like a nightmare; a nightmare that Gabriella hadn't relived in nearly three years. Burying her face into his chest, she cried harder. She hated that particular nightmare; hated that it decided to make a reappearance in her life.

Sitting cross-legged on her bed, Troy wrapped her legs around him and sat her on his lap; still holding her to him. Whatever that dream had been about, it affected her greatly. He rubbed circles on her back while whispering soft words in her ear, trying to get her to calm down.

"Wanna tell me what it was about?" he asked.

She shook her head. She didn't want to have to acknowledge the nightmare at all; she just wanted to forget about it. He understood completely. He knew what it was like to have a dream that you didn't want to remember.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"For what?"

"For constantly crying on you."

He chuckled. "It's fine, Gabriella. I'll always be here if you need a shoulder to cry on."

"Thank you."

He kissed the top of her head. "You're welcome."

/0\

Troy had an earlier shift than usual and instead of sitting in the house to be left to her own thoughts, she decided it would be wise to get to know her future husband a bit better; she never did call him back that night that he called her. So she called him and asked if he was free for the day. He told her he wasn't but would reschedule everything so they could spend some time together. She thought it was sweet that he would do all of that just to spend time with her and thought maybe getting married to him wouldn't be that bad.

"So even though you don't like the beach, you decided to take me here anyway?" Gabriella asked as they strolled down the boardwalk.

"We aren't on the sand, are we?" Maximilian asked.

"No, I guess we're not."

"You get to enjoy the beach and I get to enjoy the feeling of no sand in my shoes."

She laughed. "We both win."

"Yes, indeed."

"May I ask you a question, Maximilian?"

"You can call me 'Max' and sure."

"Well, _Max_, if you knew you had to marry someone by your twenty-fifth birthday, why haven't you tried to find someone you actually want to marry?"

"I did try. I've been trying since I was eighteen, but I haven't been successful in finding the right girl. With so much pressure from my Father, I quickly agreed to this engagement without giving it much thought. I just wanted him off my back."

"So…it's more than you wanting your Father's company."

He nodded. "This marriage is one way for him to leave me alone. I mean, I do want to inherit the company, but I became tired of him asking me when was I going to get married. Not even my Mother was pressuring me so much."

"I guess we both got pushed into this."

"Yeah. Your Father would really cut you off if you didn't agree to this marriage?"

She nodded. "Unfortunately."

"Why though?"

"We haven't had the greatest of relationships, especially in the past few years."

"What did he mean when he said that you've made a few mistakes?"

She bit her lip. "Just that I was a rebellious teenager."

"That's it?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Come on; I know there's more of an explanation than that."

"There is, but I can't tell you."

"You mean your Father won't let you tell me."

She smiled apologetically. "Sorry."

"Hey, don't worry about it. I've made some mistakes in my life, too."

"There was something I wanted to ask you."

"What's that?"

"Yesterday, my Dad told me to dress in a way that would catch your attention and keep it and it kind of made me wonder why he said that."

Maximilian sighed. "My Mother caught me talking to a friend from college, who's a female, and she thought that I was turning my attention away from you."

"So she jumped to conclusions?"

"Yep."

"I know how that feels. My Father is quick to make assumptions whenever he catches me with someone of the opposite sex."

"I think his assumptions were correct yesterday when he caught you with that mark on your neck."

She froze. "You saw that?"

He chuckled. "Yeah. I pretended to be oblivious, but I wasn't."

"My Dad's gonna kill me."

"Not if he doesn't know that I know."

"You'd do that? Not tell him, I mean?"

"I'm not like my parents, Gabriella. I really don't care if you're a virgin or not. I know I'm not."

"Really?"

He nodded. "Don't tell my parents, but I lost mine when I was fifteen."

She giggled. "Your secret is safe with me."

"So, tell me, if we weren't being forced into this, would it be possible for us to be friends?"

"It's possible for us to be friends even though we are being forced into this."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'm really enjoying your company, Max."

"So am I."

/0\

When Troy came home, he found Gabriella sitting on the couch; head in a book. She glanced over what she was reading and smiled softly at him before going back to it. Something was on her mind, he could tell. He sat beside her, but she didn't stop reading. Moving to sit on the coffee table, he pulled the book out of her hand and set it aside.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong?"

"Gabriella, something's bothering you; I can tell."

She bit her lip and looked away from him. "I don't wanna say."

"Why not?"

"I just don't."

"Whatever it is, it can't be that bad."

"It depends."

"On what?"

She looked into his eyes. "On how you react to it."

He was thoroughly confused. "What do you mean 'how I react to it'?"

Taking a deep breath, she prepared herself from the outburst that she knew was going to happen. She knew Troy was extremely defensive when it came to anything about himself and she also knew that this subject would be no different.

"There's something I want to ask you, and it's something that I want you to answer _truthfully_."

"Okay," he said with some apprehension.

"Do you...?" She cleared her throat. "Are you...a drug addict?"

His face went blank. She wasn't sure what to expect from him now. Would he shut himself up like he usually did? Or was she in for an outburst? Or would he do both; get mad then shut her out?

"What gave you that idea?" he asked, completely calm.

"The unexplained nose bleed incident. That was the only conclusion I could come up with."

"Gabriella, that could have happened for any reason."

"Not unless you were dying. A-Are you dying?"

His eyes softened. "No, I'm not dying and I'm not a drug addict."

Yes, he was lying out of his ass, but he didn't need her to know that. She already had a lot to stress about, she didn't need him to add to it.

"I hope that makes you feel better."

She smiled and nodded. "It does."

Standing up, she started towards the kitchen, aware of the confused look Troy was giving her.

"Where are you going?"

"To cook dinner. I'm starving."

He smirked. "What's on the menu?"

"Um...not sure yet."

Following her, he stood off to the side and watched as she tried to figure out what to cook. His face fell when he began to think about the situation at hand. He couldn't believe she'd actually figured it out. He wondered, though, how she managed to come to that conclusion. Had she known someone who was into drugs? Had _she_ been into drugs at one point in her life? He wanted to ask, but he knew she was more like him than either of them realized. She may have let him in on certain things, but she only told him what she wanted him to hear.


	22. Chapter 21

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: a family emergency has kept me from updating and will keep me from updating again for another week or so, so bare with me, guys. I'll try to get another update by the end of the week, but there's no guarantee.**

**Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 21

June was moving into July and, even though it seemed like everything was going back to normal, Gabriella couldn't deny that things weren't the same. She could see the questions in his eyes; the questions that asked her if there was someone she knew that had been into drugs or if she had been into it at one point in her life. She was relieved that he didn't ask her. She wasn't sure she would be able to or even wanted to answer those questions. She was somewhat glad when Sharpay invited them over to her house for the day. It gave them both some kind of distraction.

"Cannonball!" Chad called as he threw himself into Sharpay's pool.

Troy followed suit a few seconds after. Gabriella smiled softly as the two began to argue over who made the biggest splash. It was completely immature, but they deserved to be…especially Troy. Looking at him, you'd see a young man with a life ahead of him, but if you took a closer look and stared into his oceanic eyes, they'd tell you a different story; they'd tell you of an older man with a life behind him.

"Finally realized you like him?"

Gabriella turned to Sharpay. "What are you talking about?"

Light brown met dark. "You know _exactly_ what I'm talking about. Troy. You like him."

Blushing slightly, she nodded. "How'd you figure it out?"

"I've always known. Since day _one_, you've liked him."

"That's not true."

"It is. You just never realized it. So...what was it?"

"What was what?"

"What was it that made you realize you like him?"

She sighed. "I'm not actually sure."

"How can you not be sure?"

"Because one minute I'm feeling nothing for him and then the next...**.** I just don't know what it was."

"Well, recap. What were you two doing the moment you realized you had a thing for him?"

Biting her lip, Gabriella tried to put into words what she and Troy were doing without giving out the fact that they had just had sex. She thought back to that day; thought back to the moment when she first started feeling something for him.

"We were talking. He told me something that happened to him when he was a kid and I..." She blushed slightly, remembering that she kissed him, "I kissed him." She didn't have to look at Sharpay to know she had an amusing look on her face. "I know what you're thinking, Shar, but it wasn't like a kiss that meant something. I just did it to make him feel better cause he looked like he was hurting, but when I looked in his eyes afterwards...there was something there; something that caused a fluttering sensation in my stomach. Butterflies, can you believe it?"

"I can. I felt the same way the first time I kissed Chad."

"I just wish I knew what he was thinking."

"He likes you."

"What?"

"He does. The first time I noticed it was at the beach party. He kept staring at you and every time a guy went over to you, he'd get this jealous look I his eyes."

"If he likes me, why hasn't he said anything?"

"Because guys are stupid. When it comes to how they feel towards girls, they're deaf, dumb and blind."

"Chad doesn't seem that way."

"I didn't say all guys. My Chad is different."

"_Your_ Chad?"

"Of course. You know how I am when it comes to things I like," she said with a wink.

Gabriella laughed before going to take a seat on one of the beach chairs. Reclining on it, she continued to watch Troy and Chad play wrestle with each other. Her eyes trained on Troy, her body growing warm at the sight of the water dripping off his skin. Shaking the thoughts out of her head, she placed her sunglasses over her eyes and began to sunbathe.

"Watch out guys, I'm coming in!" Sharpay announced before jumping in.

"That sucked," Troy said after Sharpay failed to make a big splash.

"Oh, shut up, Bolton. Us girls have more grace then you."

"You? Graceful? Sure, and I'm President of the United States."

Sharpay laughed. "As if. You need more brains to take up that job."

"No you don't," Chad said. "Look at Bush the second."

She nodded. "That's true."

Troy laughed before turning his attention to Gabriella. "Hey, you coming in or what?"

"No, thanks," she said. "I'm good right here."

"Come on," he chided, swimming up to the side of the pool where she was. "Stop being such a spoiled sport. Not like you need a tan."

"Are you insisting that I'm dark?"

"That's exactly what I'm insisting. Not as dark as Zeke, but still…"

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"So then you'll get in?"

"No."

"Bitch." She flipped him off in response. "When?" he asked with a smirk.

She rolled her eyes, but grinned. "Go back to playing in the water."

He chuckled, but did what he was told. Moments later, Sharpay's fraternal twin brother made an appearance. But the second he saw Gabriella, he turned on his heel and started back inside.

"Ryan!" Sharpay called.

Gabriella's head turned and she smirked. Reluctantly, he made his way to the edge of the pool where his sister was.

"Yes, Shar?"

"You haven't said 'hello' to Gabriella," she responded with a malicious smile on her face. "I mean, you were practically begging me to speak to her two months ago and now…you won't even say 'hi'."

Ryan turned towards Gabriella and gave her a half wave. "Hi, Gabriella."

Standing, Gabriella walked over to him. "Come now, Ry. We're friends and friends give hugs."

She wrapped her arms around him and he hesitantly hugged her back. Over his shoulder, Gabriella looked at Troy and held a conversation with him using her eyes. He grinned and nodded. When she pulled away, she smiled at the male in front of her.

"So…you're not mad at me for what happened with your couch?"

"Of course not."

"So you're Ryan," Troy said, appearing at the edge of pool near them.

"Uh…yeah. Do I know you?"

"No. I'm Troy," he said, holding out his hand. "I'm a friend of Gabriella's and your sister's."

"HA!" came Sharpay's voice.

Troy ignored it. "Okay, maybe not _her_ friend, but I am a friend of Gabriella's."

"Oh. Nice to meet you."

The second Ryan's hand made contact with Troy's, the stronger male pulled him into the pool. Laughter went around as Ryan resurfaced, glaring at the brunette stranger. When he saw Gabriella give him a high five, he knew it was her idea and he had to get her back.

"Alright. Alright. You got your revenge."

She laughed. "Sorry, Ry, but I couldn't let you off the hook for ruining my couch _and_ recording porn on my TV."

"Yeah, yeah, just…help me out."

"No way am I falling for that one."

"I'm not trying to get revenge. If you haven't noticed, I'm wearing more clothes than you are. Not to mention sneakers. It's not that easy to get out."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. Big baby."

Unfortunately, she did fall for that one. His hand wrapped around her wrist and he pulled her in. He was unaware of his sister's voice telling him not to. All he heard was Gabriella's loud scream as she fell into the water.

"Ryan, you idiot!" Sharpay yelled. "She can't fucking swim."

His face paled. Acting on pure adrenaline, Troy dove under and went to rescue the brunette. He found her fighting to get to the surface, but she was panicking, so that was a lost cause. Grabbing her around the waist, he pulled her up until her head broke the surface. Gasping, she clung to him for dear life and tried hard not to cry.

"You okay?"

She coughed and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks."

"Gabriella, I'm so…"

She held up her hand. "Just…don't Ryan."

"I didn't mean to…"

"Ryan!" He shut up. "It's okay. Really."

He nodded before heading for the ladder to get out of the pool. Gabriella continued to cling to Troy, knowing if she let go, she would go under again. But even if she had relinquished her grip on him, Troy would have still kept a hold on her.

/0\

After an hour of just messing around in the pool, Chad and Sharpay had retreated inside—Troy was pretty sure they were going to do it—leaving aforementioned and Gabriella alone. Gabriella sat on the edge of the pool, her feet and ankles submerged in the water, while Troy floated in front of her.

"How come you never told me you couldn't swim?"

She shrugged. "Never came up."

"I can teach you, you know."

Staring at the water with contempt, she shook her head. "No, thanks. I'm good."

"You sure? It'll be more fun."

"Believe me, Troy, I know that it would be, but I'm okay."

Swimming up to her, he forced her legs apart and moved so he was between them. "Well, since you don't wanna learn how to swim, maybe we can do something else."

"This is not the time or place for that."

"Why not? Our friends are doing it."

"You don't know that for sure."

As if on cue, Ryan walked out and sat on one of the beach chairs. His face was scrunched up as if he had just seen something horrible.

"What's wrong, Ry?" Gabriella asked.

"Nothing."

"Then why are you out here?"

"Because I'd rather not hear Chad and Sharpay screwing."

Troy chuckled. "Told you."

She glared at him. "Okay, so you called it. That doesn't mean anything."

"It means," he said lowly, his finger drawing circles on her inner thigh, "that we are allowed to have that same privilege."

"No it doesn't. They're dating, we're...well, I don't know what we are."

"Does it matter?"

"Yes. To me it does." She stood and walked into the house.

Troy sighed. He would never understand women. He thought she would have came up with the conclusion all by herself that they were just friends with benefits, but he thought wrong.

"What's your relationship to her?" Ryan asked.

"I told you; we're friends."

"It's obvious it's more than that."

"Okay, so we've fucked once or twice, but that's about it."

Ryan nodded. "So you're friends with benefits?"

"I guess you can say that; yeah."

"Then why don't you tell _her_ that?"

He was right. Climbing out of the pool, Troy went in search of the brunette and found her in the kitchen.

"Are you naturally drawn to the kitchen or do you just like being in one?"

She didn't answer. She took a drink from the water bottle in her hand and ignored him. Rolling his eyes, he walked up to her and took the bottle from her.

"Hey!"

"Look, what I think we are and what you want us to be aren't the same; I just want you to know that."

"Troy...whatever you think we are, I'm fine with. Just because Sharpay and Chad are dating, doesn't mean we have to be."

"That's not what you made it sound like."

"I mean that they know what they are to each other while they screwing each other's brains out. But us? We have yet to put a label on that."

"That's because I'm not even sure what we are. Sure, you can label it as 'friends with benefits', but I don't even know if that's the right term. We've fucked twice, you've given me head once and I've fingered you twice. All within a two month period. Is that really enough to give a name to it?"

"I don't know."

"See; you just as clueless as I am. If you wanna call it 'friends with benefits', go right ahead. I just don't see what's so important about giving a name to this weird relationship we have."

She grinned. "It is weird, isn't it?"

"Extremely, but I'm not complaining." She laughed. "So...what is it with you and being in kitchens?"

She shrugged. "My Mom used to be in ours all the time when I was a kid. She's the one who taught me how to cook. She used to tell me, 'even though we have people to cook for us, it doesn't hurt to know just in case.' She was definitely right. Knowing how to cook has helped a lot...especially with you around now."

"I'm a growing boy."

"Don't guys stop growing at twenty-one?"

"No, that's girls. We don't stop until twenty-five."

"Damn. That means I only have a few more months to grow another inch." She sighed. "Looks like I'll be drinking milk from now on."

He chuckled. "I don't think you need to grow anymore."

"Why?"

"Because you're fine just the way you are."

She smiled. "Thanks, Troy."

He shrugged. "No need to thank me."

"I know, but I want to."


	23. Chapter 22

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: So this was not looked over by my beta, but that's because she is out of town and has no internet access. Things have mildly gone back to normal, but I still won't have enough time to update like I used to, at least not until August. I have also been neglecting my youtube series so I do want to try and get a few of those up. If you guys find any grammatical or spelling errors, please feel free to tell me. After this chapter, the sexual stuff tones down a bit, but does come up in a few chapters.**

**Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 22

July 12th.

Out of all the days of the year he resented—his birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas—this was the day he resented the most; the day he was separated from his sister and, ironically, her birthday. She would be turning seventeen at one thirty-eight in the afternoon. Picking up the locket from where it lay on the night stand, he opened it and was greeted by her smiling face. The picture was from the last time he'd seen her.

She'd only been fourteen when she was adopted. They always told them that it was rare for an older child to be adopted and it was even more rare for an adolescent, but she was chosen. He was grateful for it, even though it meant that they would be separated. She tried to get him to convince the family to take him too, but he knew that they only wanted her. He hadn't resented the family for it, though. He wanted what was best for his baby sister and being given a second chance at living happily with a family was what was best for her.

He was on the cusp of adulthood. He was past the point for getting a chance at being happy. Being seventeen at the time, he knew no one would want him. Who would want an adolescent that only had one more year left before being considered an adult? No one, and he knew that. Emma was all that mattered. Her happiness meant more to him than his own.

Sighing, he closed his eyes and tried to fight back the tears that threatened to fall. He hated this day for the plain fact that he felt more vulnerable than ever. He knew what happened with his parents; he saw both of their caskets being lowered into the ground. He could deal with that because he was certain what their fate had been, but with Emma it was different. He had no idea what had become of his baby sister. Was she alive? Was she happy? Did she think of him? Was she still waiting for him to come find her?

So many unanswered questions; so many doubts.

"Troy?"

He groaned quietly. He really wasn't interested in interacting with Gabriella today. He didn't want to have to fight off his feelings for her along with the memories of his sister.

"Troy, are you awake?"

Lifting himself from his bed, he walked to the door and pried it open. The second he looked upon her face, he could feel the butterflies fluttering around in his stomach.

"Hey," he said, hoping his voice didn't come out pained.

"Hey. You okay? You seem a bit pale."

"I'm fine. You needed something?"

"I made breakfast; just wanted to see if you wanted anything."

"Yeah, sure."

He followed her into the kitchen and she handed him a plate of food. Thanking her, he took a seat at the divide between the kitchen and the living room—sort of like an island—and began eating. She took a seat across from him and followed suit. His quiet demeanor was unnerving her. He'd never been this quiet before. He hadn't even sent her his usual inappropriate commentary. Actually, come to think of it, he hadn't said it in a while.

"Did I do something wrong?" she asked and he looked up from his food.

"What? No! No. Why would you think that?"

"Well, for one, you're being extremely quiet and you haven't said anything sexual in a while."

He smirked. "So you do like when I say shit like that?" he asked, though it was more of a statement than a question.

She blushed. "It's not that I like it, I just…I'm used to it."

"Uh-huh. Sure. You like it and you know it."

Eyes narrowing, she glared at him. "I don't."

"Then why are getting so defensive?"

"Because…I…"

Chuckling, he went back to eating. He had a few sexual comments running through his head, but they were also mixed in with confessions. He didn't want to say something and then have something else slip out. He'd rather keep those confessions to himself.

"Okay, where's the Troy I know? I basically _ask_ you to say something sexual, but you still don't. Are you sure you're the same guy that's been living here for the past two months?"

He grinned and nodded. "I'm sure."

"Then what's wrong? What's going on that pretty head of yours that's preventing you from making your usual perverted comments?"

His grin fell. "It's nothing."

"Troy…"

"Look, just drop it alright?"

"Alright." She went back to eating for a few moments before she said anything else. "Does it have to do with that girl in the picture?"

His head snapped up and he stared at her; eyes wide and dark. "What girl?"

She bit her tongue. She really need to learn to think before she spoke. She hadn't intended on speaking of the girl until he brought it up, but her mouth had a mind of its own.

"Um…the girl in the picture. You know, the one that you keep in that locket," she answered, her voice small.

Closing his eyes, he tried to control his anger. "How did you know about that?"

"I…I saw it. That day that you said you weren't feeling well, I went to check on you after Taylor left and you were asleep. I saw the locket in your hand and I wanted to move it so you wouldn't crush it. I didn't mean to look in it; curiosity got the better of me."

Growling, he stood and walked away from her. He knew it had to have been her that moved it, but he didn't want to believe it.

"W-Who is she?"

He tensed. "None of your _fucking _business."

She stood and made her way to him. "Troy, I…"

Her hand tried to rest on his shoulder, but he quickly evaded it. If he had been looking at her, he would have seen the hurt look cross her face, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come.

"Why can't you just tell me?"

He turned to her, eyes the sapphire color that she'd only seen once before. "Why do you care so much? Why, the fuck, is it so important that you know something about me?"

"Because I'm tired of being left in the dark when it comes to you! You make it seem like we're friends, but then you keep any part of who you are to yourself. How does that help me?"

"Me, me, me; that's all you fucking ever care about. Newsflash, Gabriella, the world doesn't revolve around you. Is it such a damn crime that I want to keep something to myself? Is it a requirement that I have to open up to anyone and everyone?

"No, but at least open up to me."

"There it goes again; that fucking word. I don't want to tell you anything. So what? Move, the fuck, on. Stop being such a spoiled little bitch and realize that you're not gonna get your way all the time."

"I'm sorry, I didn't..."

"The world would probably so much fucking better without you in it."

Gabriella wanted to cry, but something in her would allow her to. Instead, she watched as Troy stalked to his room and slammed the door, leaving the brunette alone with an ache in her chest.

/0\

_It was the fourth anniversary of their parents' death and he really didn't want to speak to anyone. Emma had tried to get him to speak to her, but he refused to. He hated that he was shutting out his sister, but he really just wanted to be alone._

"_Troy? Troy, please talk to me."_

"_I really am not in the mood, Emma."_

"_But..."_

"_Just leave me alone."_

_Setting her jaw, she walked up to him. "I'm just as upset as you are about this day, Troy. You act like I was three and not seven. I remember that day; I remember how much it hurt to find out they were dead."_

"_You just don't understand."_

"_What don't I understand? They were my parents too, Troy."_

"_So _what_ Em? You weren't there. You have no _idea_ how bad this hurts. You'll _never know_ how bad this fucking hurts."_

_Emma Bolton doesn't cry. No matter how much something hurts, she never cried, but for the first time, a tear slid down the girl's face and he knew he had gone too far._

"_Em, I'm..."_

_She didn't let him finish. Turning on her heel, she decided to grant her brother his wish and leave him alone. Troy sighed and ran a hand through his hair before going to find his sister and apologize._

Troy stared at the surveillance feeds with disinterest. His mind replayed what he'd said to Gabriella earlier that day and he cursed himself for saying such a cruel thing to her. He tended to say stupid shit when he was angry and upset; this time was no different. After he calmed down, he wanted to apologize, but found her nowhere in the apartment.

_Why did I say all that shit?_

Closing his eyes, he tried to recall the look on her face and his heart clenched when he remembered the pained expression. He knew he would have to find some way to make it up to her. Out of the silence, his phone began to ring. He fished it from out of his pocket and looked at the caller ID. The number was unfamiliar, but he decided to answer it anyway.

"Hello?"

"_Troy, have you seen or spoken to Gabriella?"_

"Sharpay? How'd you get my number?"

"_That's not important at the moment. Answer my question."_

"Not since earlier. Why?"

"_Shit."_

"Sharpay, what's going on?"

"_Something's wrong. I tried calling her, but she won't pick up her phone."_

"And this has to do with me, how?"

"_Will you stop acting like a fucking jerk for once and be serious here?"_ She sighed. _"Did she say anything to you earlier, like if she was going somewhere?"_

"No, but then again she was gone before I left for work."

"_So you didn't speak to her at all?"_

"Well, we did get into a fight."

"_What did you say to her?"_

"It was nothing serious." He didn't want to tell her what he said. Sharpay was dangerous when it came to her best friend.

"_Tell me the truth, Bolton."_

He sighed. "I may have said that she was selfish and..."

"_And?"_

"And that the world would be better without her." The line went silent. "Sharpay, you still there?"

"_Are you fucking stupid?"_ He held the phone away from his ear. _"Or do you just not care what happens to her?"_

"I didn't mean any of it. I was just mad."

"_Mad or not, Troy, you had no right to say that."_

"I don't see what the big deal is. It's not like she'll take what I said to heart." Sharpay stayed silent. "She won't…will she?"

She sighed. _"Find her, Troy, or you're gonna hate yourself for the rest of your life."_

/0\

"Gabriella!" he called as he stumbled through the front door. "Gabriella!"

Everything in the apartment was quiet. Was she even there? Figuring there was only one place she would be, he rushed up to her room and found nothing to be out of place. Her bathroom door, however, was closed and there was light spilling from the bottom of it. In three long strides, he was standing in front of it and tried to turn the knob, but it was locked.

"Gabriella?" He knocked. "Gabriella, open the door."

When he received no answer, he resorted to kicking the door in. After the fifth kick, the door opened and pure panic flooded over him.

"Shit."

There, lying with her back against the wall, was Gabriella; eyes half opened, wrists slit open. Adrenaline took him over as he quickly made his way over to her and wrapped his hand around one wrist to stop the bleeding. Pulling out his phone, he quickly called 911 and held her close to him.

"Hold on, Gabriella."

"_911, what's your emergency?"_

"Please, my friend just tried to commit suicide."

"_Can you tell me how, sir?"_

"She cut her wrists open."

"_Okay, I'm tracking your location. The ambulance should be there soon; just stay on the line with me."_

"Alright." Placing the phone in the crook of his neck, he wrapped his other hand around her other wrist and pulled her closer. "You're gonna be okay, Gabriella. You're not gonna die on me."

/0\

Sharpay was out for blood.

Her best friend was hurt and it was Troy's fault. The second she saw the male sitting in the plastic chair of the waiting room, she stalked up to him. Hearing her heels click against the linoleum floor, he lifted his head and stood to greet her, but the only greeting he got was a slap to the face.

"Bastard."

"Sharpay, I'm sorry."

"I told you, I specifically _told you_ that she was vulnerable, but did you listen to me? No, you fucking didn't and now she's in the hospital…_again_."

"Wait? What do you mean again?"

Too distraught to answer, she shook her head and sunk into one of the chairs. "I just can't believe how _stupid_ you could be."

"Look, Sharpay, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen."

"Sure you didn't."

His eyes narrowed. "I didn't. Do you really think I'd want anything to happen to her? She…she means a lot to me. I wouldn't have said what I did if I thought she would actually try to commit suicide."

"But you did know. I told you she wasn't as strong as she seemed."

"How was I supposed to know she would do something like this? You conveniently left that part out."

"Montez."

As if they hadn't been arguing, Troy and Sharpay turned to the doctor, both answering to his call. He looked at them both, unconvinced that they were family of hers.

"Sorry, it's immediate family only."

"She's my step-sister and this is her fiancé," Sharpay answered.

Though he still didn't believe them, he nodded and motioned for them to follow.

"Fiancé?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Do you wanna see her or not?"

Sighing, he let it go and continued to follow the doctor. When he stopped at Gabriella's room, Sharpay quickly made her way inside. Troy stayed behind. This was Sharpay's moment with her best friend. He didn't want to soil it with his unworthy presence. He was the cause of this.

Walking up to her bedside, Sharpay grabbed her best friend's hand. She couldn't believe she was here again. She thought the first time was the last, but, apparently, she was wrong. Tears slipped from her eyes and landed on the back of Gabriella's hand.

"Oh, Gabi, how could you do this to me again?"

"I'm s-sorry."

Her eyes found her best friend's and the tears came harder. "Oh, thank God." She moved up and hugged her. "I thought for sure I'd lost you this time."

"Sorry, Shar."

"You don't need to apologize. The jackass you call a friend is the one who needs to apologize."

"Is he…?" She didn't even need to finish asking; her eyes quickly caught his form by the door "Why is he here?"

"He's the one who found you. As idiotic as he is, if it weren't for him then I really would have lost you."

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure, hon."

"Can you tell him that I don't blame him for what happened, but…I don't wanna see him?"

"Why?"

"I just…I can't right now."

Sharpay nodded. "Okay. Get some rest."

"Kay."

Kissing her forehead, Sharpay stood and walked over to the worried male at the door. She quickly met his blue eyes and, for some reason, felt sorry for him. He was truly concerned for the well being of the brunette lying in the hospital bed.

"How is she?" he asked.

"She's fine."

"Can I…?" She shook her head. "Why not?"

"Take a walk with me."

She walked into the hallway, hoping that he wouldn't make a scene when she told him what Gabriella had said. Troy glanced at the female lying in the bed before following her best friend.

"Troy…" she started when they were a few doors from Gabriella's room, "she wanted me to tell you that…she doesn't blame you for what happened…but she doesn't want to see you right now."

"What? Why not?"

"She's trying to recover, both physically and mentally. Seeing you will just put a strain on her."

"But I…I need to apologize."

She smiled sadly. "I know you do, but you can do that when she's up to facing you. Right now is not a good time."

Sighing, he nodded. "I understand."

Sharpay watched as he made his way back to the waiting room. She could feel his pain; the guilt that weighed heavily on his soul. She wished that Gabriella would have just spoken to him and put him out of his misery, but she knew her best friend's mind was vulnerable. She wouldn't have been able to take seeing him while still aware of the effect his words had on her.

Numbly, Troy took a seat and stared at his hands; still stained red with Gabriella's blood. He didn't know how much more he could take. His life was just one big mess and he'd made a mess out of someone else's. No, that's not true. Her life was a mess before he entered it; he just made it worse. It was official; July 12th was the worst day of his life.


	24. Chapter 23

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: Again, this hasn't been looked over by my beta. She's not going to be available until he 29th of this month, so if you guys spot a spelling or grammatical error please let me know. I may have looked this over, but there's no guarantee that I caught everything. I keep forgetting to mention that I have deleted _Anything For You_ and _Never Far Behind_ because they were going nowhere and I will most likely do that to _In Another Life_, my Zekepay story.**

**Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 23

"So are you gonna tell me?" Troy asked as he sat across from Sharpay in the hospital cafeteria.

It had been three days since Gabriella's suicide attempt. The doctors wanted to keep her for observation to make sure that she was mentally stable enough before going home. Sharpay barely left her best friend's side while Troy came every day before he went to work to see if Gabriella would talk to him. It was the same every day, though; she wasn't ready to speak to him. So he got updates from Sharpay when he came to visit.

"Tell you what?" she asked without looking up from her food.

"You know what."

"Can't say that I do."

He sighed. "What was the reason that Gabriella was in the hospital before?"

"That doesn't concern you."

"Yes it does. I'm just as much her friend as you are."

She looked up and glared. "Oh, you definitely proved that."

"I made a stupid mistake."

"Stupid and reckless."

"But despite that, I deserve to know."

"You _deserve_ to know? You don't deserve to know shit." She stood, a scowl on her face. "How can you even say you're entitled to know _anything_ about Gabriella's past when you won't even tell her anything of yours?"

"That's not true. I told her something."

"_One thing_, Troy, one _Goddamn_ thing and you expect me to tell you anything else? Go fuck yourself cause I'm not telling you a damn thing."

Fuming, Sharpay stalked out of the cafeteria; too through with Troy Bolton. She didn't understand how her best friend could like someone like him and was glad that his best friend wasn't like him. By the time she reached the elevator, the blonde had tears in her eyes.

"Sharpay wait!"

"Leave me, the fuck, alone, Bolton. I'm not interested in anymore of you 'I'm entitled' bullshit."

He grabbed her arm before she could walk onto the elevator and pulled her back. She refused to turn to him though. She had to control herself and fight the urge to slap him.

"I'm sorry, alright? I know this whole thing must be hard on you; I just..."

"Hard on me? _Hard on me_? You have no idea how fucking hard this is for me; to know that your best friend just tried to kill herself for the second time hurts more than anything."

"Second time?"

Sharpay inhaled sharply. She hadn't meant to say that; hadn't meant to let it slip, but it was too late. The secret was out; there was no use trying to hide it anymore.

Sighing, she turned her eyes to the ground. "She tried it once before...when she was seventeen."

"W-What happened?"

"I'm not actually sure; she never told me. All I know is that, in the middle of the night—three days after she turned seventeen—I received a phone call from her."

_The incessant ringing of her cell phone brought Sharpay out of her sleep. Groaning, she reached for the offending object and pressed 'answer'._

"_What?" she said, holding back her urge to curse the person out._

"Shar..."_ The blonde's mood changed when she heard the soft voice of her best friend._

"_Gabi? Gabi, what's wrong?"_

"Shar...I need you. Please, I need you."

"_Tell me where you are and I'll come get you."_

"I'm at the beach house."

"_Hold on, Babe, I'm coming."_

_She ended the call and quickly dressed in pink sweats and white sneakers. Grabbing her car keys, she quietly snuck out of her house and jumped in her car. Fear crawled through the blonde's veins as she recalled the sound of her best friend's voice. It sounded so lost, so desperate, so..._broken_. Pressing her foot harder on the gas, Sharpay didn't care if she was breaking the speed limit; she needed to get to Gabriella and fast. Minutes later, she pulled up at the Montez family beach house and quickly exited her car._

_The spare key was always hidden in the plant by the door. Gabriella had it hidden there just in case she ever forgot the original or lost it. The beach house had gone unused by the family for years. Gabriella used it on occasion when she didn't feel like going home to her father. It seemed that this night was no different. Unlocking the door, she stepped inside the dark house and looked around._

"_Gabi!" she called. "Gabriella, where are you?"_

_Hearing nothing, Sharpay immediately went upstairs to Gabriella's room. It was the only place she could think to find the brunette. The room, however, was empty. By now, Sharpay was panicking. Her best friend was in some kind of trouble, but she had no clue how to find her. Suddenly, a thought hit her and she went towards the room at the far end of the hallway: Alejandro's old room. She knew how much Gabriella loved and missed her brother...even if the blonde had no idea how the teenager had died._

_Slowly opening the door, horror struck her as her light brown eyes caught sight of her best friend's unmoving body. Littered on the bed around her was small blue pills and an empty pill bottle. Sharpay's feet quickly carried her over to Gabriella's side and she shook her, desperately trying to wake her._

"_Gabi. Gabriella. Wake up, Babe, please, wake up."_

_Feeling for a pulse, Sharpay had to reassure herself that the brunette was still alive. She found one, but it was faint. However, Gabriella wasn't breathing. Pulling out her phone, Sharpay quickly dialed 911._

"911, what's your emergency?"

"_Please. You have to help. My best friend...she took something...and now she's not breathing."_

"Calm down, Miss. Do you know what it is exactly she took?"

_Sharpay looked at the bottle. "I think they're sleeping pills."_

"Okay. Now, you said she's not breathing?"

"_Yes," she cried._

"Do you know how to give CPR?"

_Sharpay's eyes went wide. She did know how. "Yes. Should I give her CPR?"_

"Yes, to get her breathing. The ambulance is on its way."

_Remembering what she learned in swim class, Sharpay administered CPR to her best friend. After a few tries, she got Gabriella breathing again, but barely._

"_Okay, I did it."_

"Is she breathing?"

"_Yes, but it's shallow."_

"From the sleeping pills. Hold on tight, Miss, the ambulance should be there soon."

_Unable to keep herself from breaking down, the blonde began to sob. She pulled Gabriella's body close to hers and stroked her cheek. She couldn't lose her best friend, she just couldn't._

"The ambulance arrived just on time; a minute later...and she would have died right in my arms," she cried. "I was so scared I was gonna loose her."

"Did she ever tell you why she tried to kill herself?"

Sharpay shook her head. "No. As much as I tried, as many times as I asked, she refused to tell me."

Troy hated when women cried and Sharpay was no different. But he couldn't blame her for it. She was hurting. She was hurting and it was his fault. If it weren't for his anger issues, he wouldn't have said what he did to Gabriella and she wouldn't be in the hospital. Without hesitation, Troy gathered the blonde into his arms and pulled her close to him; allowing her to cry into his shirt.

/0\

Was she not meant to die? Is that why Troy had found her before she had time to sleep forever? If she tried again, would she succeed, or would she be denied for the third time?

Staring out the window, Gabriella watched the bird fly freely across the sky; wishing she could be one of them. She was tired of living this life; tired of not being the happy person she used to be. She wanted to be with her brother; wanted to see his smiling face again. She may not have believed in God, but she did believe in an afterlife where loved ones would be reunited.

"Gabriella." Turning her eyes away from the window, she gazed upon her best friend as she stood in the doorway. "How are you today?"

She shrugged. "I've been better."

Crossing the threshold, Sharpay took a seat on the bed in front of Gabriella and took her hand. Sharpay didn't know what to say next, so she said the only thing she could think of.

"Did I do something wrong?"

Brown eyes widening, Gabriella grabbed her best friend's cream colored hand. "No, nothing. Why would you think you did something wrong?"

"Because...for the second time, you tried to leave me, but this time...you hadn't even called me. You always call me when something was wrong."

"Shar, you didn't do anything wrong."

"Then why? Why were you trying to leave me again?" the blonde asked, tears leaking from her light brown eyes.

"Everyone would be happier if I died."

"That's not true."

"Yes it is."

"Gabriella...how can you possibly believe that I would be happier without you in my life. You're like the sister I never had. You mean so much to me. I would be _crushed_ if I lost you. And what about Ryan? He sees you as a second sister. He loves you just as much as I do. Do you really think he'd be happier if you died?"

"No, I-I guess not."

"And what about Troy? He wouldn't be happier. In fact, I know he'd miss you."

Looking down at the bed sheets, Gabriella's smile slipped off her face as she remembered the blue eyed male that she was still avoiding. "No, he wouldn't."

"Of course he would, Gabi."

"He told me the world would be better off without me; meaning, he wouldn't miss me."

"Have you forgotten that he's the one who saved you?"

"No, but..."

"Look, I know you're mad at him, but..."

"I'm not mad at him."

"Yes, you are. That whole 'I don't blame him, but I don't want to speak to him' excuse didn't fool me. You're mad at him because of what he said; I'd be mad at him too, but, Babe, he saved your life. I mean, sure, I had to push him in the right direction..."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I couldn't get in touch with you, so I called him. I asked him if he knew where you were or if you had told him if you were going somewhere and he said that you were gone before he left for work. Then he told me about the argument you guys got into...and what he said. I told him that he needed to find you before it was too late. If he didn't care about you, he wouldn't have listened to me."

Gabriella laughed bitterly. "Yeah, because that's exactly why he came looking for me."

"It is."

"No, it isn't. He came looking for me because he knew you would fry his ass if something happened to me and he was the reason behind it."

"Gabi..."

"He doesn't care about me and he sure as hell doesn't like me."

"That's not true."

"_Yes_, it is. End of story."

Sharpay wanted to say more, but a nurse walked in and informed Gabriella that it was time for her therapy session. With an exasperated sigh, the brunette said her goodbyes to her best friend and left with the nurse. She wished she could make her see that Troy's words weren't true; that he hadn't meant anything by them, but the only person who could was Troy himself. Too bad Gabriella still refused to speak to him.

/0\

Troy sat on the floor; mind in a daze. Sharpay had called him an hour before and told him that Gabriella still didn't want to see him. After getting off the phone with her, he immediately locked himself in his room and pulled out his stash. He needed to be numb; needed to dull the pain of the brunette's constant rejection. He hated that it hurt so much. The one girl he came to see as a close friend didn't want to speak to him at all. It was this kind of behavior that made him lie to her about his drug use. He knew if she found out, she wouldn't speak to him.

Setting up his usual four lines, he quickly snorted up the first two; eager to feel nothing. A faint ringing was heard outside in the living room, but he ignored it. He didn't want any contact with the outside world at the moment. As he reached for the next two, the voicemail came on and an unfamiliar voice filled the quiet apartment.

"_Gabriella? Gabriella, it's Max."_ Silence. _"I guess you're not home. Look when you get this message can you call me? I need to ask you something."_

Waiting for the voicemail to end, Troy wondered who this guy was. He didn't think he'd met him and silently thought of possibilities of who he might be. A family member? A close friend? A boyfriend? His heart clenched at the last probability. Could he be Gabriella's boyfriend? Troy shook his head. She couldn't have a boyfriend; there was just no way. She had willingly fucked him that night, meaning she wasn't tied down to someone. But who else could he be?

Shaking his head, he let his questions float to the back his mind as he snorted up the last two lines. He didn't need to think about this situation anymore. It wasn't helping him forget the pain in his chest; it just made it worse. Laying out five more lines, he snorted them one by one until he was pleasurably numb. This was exactly what he wanted; exactly what he needed.


	25. Chapter 24

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: okay, so remember how I told you there were only going to be a few chapters now that has sex or sexual situations instead of almost every last one? well, this is one of the ones with. Not hard to spot since it starts off a section. Once again, this has not been checked by my beta, but she comes back from Vaca on Friday so this will be the last time I will have to ask you this: can you please keep an eye out for spelling and grammatical errors and tell me if you spot any? I tend to overlook things. Thank you.**

**Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 24

He stood frozen in the doorway; unable to believe that the woman sitting upright on the hospital bed was the same woman he had spent the past three months with. She sat with one leg up and her arms wrapped around it. Her hair fell softly in her face; its natural curl framing her face nicely. The light from the sun peeking through the window outlined her body, giving her an ethereal glow. It made him believe in angels on Earth...and she was one of them.

"What are you doing here, Troy?"

Snapping out of his gaze, he mentally berated himself for letting his mind wander like that. When he didn't answer her, she turned to him; her usually soft mocha eyes steeled over. She was mad that he was there; mad that he went against her wishes and decided to come visit her. Sighing softly, he crossed the room and sat in the chair beside her bed. Her eyes never left him, even as he didn't look at her.

"I'm sorry."

"Troy, I said I didn't..."

"I know what you said and I don't believe a damn word of it." He finally looked up; brown and blue connecting for the first time in days. "I'm sorry for what I said; I didn't mean any of it."

"If you didn't mean any of it, then why did you say it?"

"Because I'm an idiot." He looked down at his hands, still seeing her blood on them though it had washed off days ago. "I'm an idiot and an ass. I was just...upset and angry and...and I tend to say stupid shit when I'm angry. But I never meant to say what I did. I never meant for you to think that the world would be better without you."

"But you're right."

His head snapped up and he found her staring at the bed sheets. "What? How can you say that?"

"It's true. People would be happier without me," she said, smiling sadly before whispering, "My Dad would be happier without me."

"What about Sharpay? Would she be happier?"

She laughed dryly. "Shar already had this conversation with me."

"Oh? And what did she say?"

"That she wouldn't be, but I know that's not true. It might take a while, but she'll go back to normal and then she'll realize how much better her life is without me and my family drama to cloud it up."

"And Ryan? What about him?"

"Ryan...Ryan's like a brother to me, but he doesn't know what I've been through. Sharpay will tell him and then he realize that I'm better off dead. He wants me to be happy and he knows I'll be happier six feet under."

"...And what about me?"

She turned to him, confusion across her face. "What?"

"Will I be happier without you? I can tell you right now, I won't be." Shifting, Troy moved so he was sitting in front of her; looking upon her beautiful face. "Truthfully, I've never been happier than I have been in the past three months that I've lived with you. I know I may seem off at times and a bit bipolar, but that's only because I'm not use to this. I haven't felt this way in years."

"Troy..."

"I know what I said was stupid," he said softly, taking her hand, "but I didn't mean any of it. You're not a spoiled brat and you're not selfish, cause if you were, then I would have been living on the streets. You opened your home to me, even when you didn't have to. You brought me new clothes, even when I told you you didn't need to. I know I said that the world would be better without you in it, but...it wouldn't be. If there were more people like you, then the world would be a better place."

"Too bad my Father doesn't see that."

"Your Father's a jackass. If he fails to see you as you are, then something's wrong with him." Using his free hand, he pushed locks of her hair behind her ear. "You are an amazing woman and, one day, someone's gonna see that and they're never gonna let you go."

Gabriella smiled softly as she felt her heart skip a beat. She'd never seen this softer side of Troy; at least not in this caliber. Maybe Sharpay was right; maybe he did care about her...maybe he did like her. The butterflies went haywire at that thought. She willed them to stop, but with his hand in hers and his azure gaze fixed on her face, them stopping wouldn't be possible.

"Thank you."

He nodded, a slight pained expression on his face. He knew one day his words would come back to bite him in the ass. One day, she would find someone who would realize how great she is...but maybe she already had.

"Gabriella, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," she said, noticing the hesitation in his voice.

"Um..." He looked down, eyeing their still joined hands, "who's...who's Max?"

She visually froze. "What?"

"Someone named Max has been calling for the past few days, looking for you; says he has something he needs to ask you." He looked up. "Who is he?"

"He's...just a friend of the family. His dad owns a major oil company and plans to merge his company with ours."

"Oh." She could have sworn she heard relief in his voice. "Well, he wants you to call him; says he has something to ask you."

She nodded. "Did he say anything else?"

Troy shook his head. "No. Should he have?"

"No, I was just wondering."

"Oh."

Conversation lapsed into silence. Gabriella's gaze turned towards the window once more, while Troy's stayed on her. His eyes wouldn't break away as much as he wanted them to. If he got caught staring, then he would have to explain _why_ he was staring.

"What made you so curious?" she asked, turning back to him.

"What?"

"What made you ask about Max?"

He shrugged. "I guess it's because I've never really seen you interact with any other guy besides me, Ryan and Chad. I was just curious as to who he was to you."

"Who did you think he was?"

Chuckling dryly, he scratched the back of his neck; a nervous habit he couldn't get over. "Well, I thought he was your boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" A nervous laugh left her lips. "No, no. He's nothing like that." _He's actually my fiancé._

"That's good...I guess."

Smirking, she moved closer to him. "You're not jealous, are you?"

"Jealous? Of _what_?"

"Of the thought that I may be involved with someone."

"Pft. Why would I be jealous?"

Her joking demeanor faltered. "No reason, I guess. I just..."

"I should go," he spoke, standing with her hand still held firmly in his. Noticing this, he quickly released her and dug in hands into his pockets. "Do you know when they're gonna let you go home?"

She shook her head. "No, not yet. I still have therapy sessions to complete."

Nodding, he looked at the ground. "Well, I guess I'll just see you later then."

"Okay."

Smiling briefly, he backed out of the room. "Bye," he said before heading down the hallway.

"Bye," she whispered, though he was long gone.

/0\

He wasn't fucking her because he was angry, or frustrated or stressed. He was fucking her because he wanted to burn the damn butterflies that had been fluttering around his intestines since his conversation with Gabriella. He wanted to forget the ever growing feelings he had towards the brunette. Just thinking about her made him thrust harder into the red-head bent over in front of him. He wished she were Daisy. At least with Daisy, he could talk about his problems, but he hadn't seen the blonde in weeks. Every time he asked, he got the same answer: she's busy. Busy doing what? All she does is eat, sleep and fuck. What else was there for her to do?

"Oh, _shit!_" the red-head screamed as waves of pleasure rolled through her, her orgasm coming quickly.

He sped up his pace to finish the same time she did, but for some reason, he just couldn't do it. He couldn't reach the end. He tried over and over again, but each time, she finished before he could get a chance to. Finally, he just resorted to her giving him a blow job, but even that didn't help.

"What's wrong, Baby? Having a hard time?"

"I guess you can say that," he answered, a soft chuckle escaping his lips. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Do I have to stop sucking your dick?"

"Nah, you can keep going." She smiled and continued what she had been doing. "You know Daisy right." She hummed in response, sending a jolt of pleasure through his shaft. "Do you know what's been going on with her? I've been trying to see her, but they keep telling me she's busy."

Removing her mouth, she started giving him a hand job to answer, but didn't say anything right away. "Daisy has been...well, she's become Morris' personal whore. He won't let any other man touch her or see her."

"When did this happen?"

"Um...like two months ago. Problem is...he's got quite the temper when you get him angry and she did."

"What did she do?"

The red-head sighed. "She let some other guy touch her."

"Was he the guy who gave her the black eye?"

She nodded. "But Morris gave her an even bigger one." She gasped and covered her mouth. "I wasn't supposed to say that."

His blood ran cold. "He...he _what_?"

"Morris has a pretty nasty temper. Why do you think he won't hesitate to put a bullet through someone's brain if they make him angry? It's no different with us, except he won't kill us."

"I have to talk to Daisy."

"That's suicide and you know it. If I were you, I'd forget about her."

Forget about her? He couldn't just _forget _about his best friend? Especially not now when she needed him. Fishing through his pocket for his wallet, he pulled out two fifties and handed it to her.

"Leave."

Sighing, she took the money and began redressing before leaving him in the room alone. Troy pressed the heel of his hands into his eyes. Useless; he was fucking useless. He had no idea how to help Daisy, just like he had no idea how to keep his sister with him for forever. He hated feeling this way. Why was he always useless when it came to helping those he cared about? Standing, he pulled up his pants and fixed himself before leaving.

With nowhere to go, Troy wandered the streets of L.A. wondering what to do next. He didn't want to go back to the apartment since it was empty and he wasn't sure if he wanted to see Chad at the moment. Sharpay had told his best friend what he had done and he knew the curly haired male was waiting to rip Troy a new one. Unfortunately, his feet led him to Chad's building and he knew it was better to be yelled at now than later.

"Well, well, if it isn't Troy Bolton," Chad said when he opened the door.

"Hey, Chad."

"What brings you here?"

"Chad, I know you wanna yell at me for how stupid I am, so just do it."

"Luckily for you, the words I want to say aren't appropriate for a five year olds ears." He motioned towards the little girl sitting in the living room, watching television. "My rant will have to wait. So, why are you here again?"

He shrugged. "I just don't want to go back to an empty apartment."

"And you don't have work today?"

"Nope."

Finding no real reason to turn him away, Chad let Troy inside. Troy immediately went into the living room and took a seat on the couch. He smiled softly as Destiny sang along to the theme song of Dora the Explorer. He found her completely adorable and wished she were his own.

"Des, did you say 'hi'?"

The little girl broke her eyes away from the television and smiled shyly. "Hi."

"Hi," he said, unable to break away from the innocent hazel gaze. "What are you watching?" he asked, though he already knew.

"Dora."

"Really? Is she fun to watch?"

She nodded. "Yeah, but not as fun as SpongeBob."

He chuckled and turned to Chad. "That cartoon is still on?" he asked, remembering his sister watching it.

"Unfortunately," Chad answered, laughing lightly.

"You used to watch SpongeBob?" Destiny asked, her curiosity peaking.

"No," he answered with a shake of his head, "but my sister did."

"Your sister?"

"Uh-huh."

"I wish I had a sister."

"Maybe you will one day."

Smiling brightly at the prospect of having a sister one day, Destiny turned back to the television, but her mind was on what her sister would be like and if she would look like her.

"Dude." Troy turned to Chad. "I didn't know you had a sister."

Troy's face darkened and he turned away. "There's a lot you don't know about me, Chad."


	26. Chapter 25

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: thanks for the reviews guys. This will probably be the only update this week because I'm going away to a family reunion on Friday and I won't be back until late Tuesday. My beta is back so this was looked over by her.**

**Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 25

Two weeks.

Two weeks was how long Gabriella had stayed in the hospital. Maximilian had called several other times, but Troy hadn't picked up. He didn't know the guy, nor had he met him, and he didn't want him to get the wrong idea. So he left returning his phone calls to Gabriella.

Quiet and hesitant, Gabriella walked through the front door. She wasn't sure if she was really ready to return home. Actually, if she could pack up and move this second, she would. Gabriella ran from things that reminded her of the nightmares of her life. In her Father's house, her brother's room and her parents' room were off limits to her. She refused to enter either of them. Her family's beach house had been abandoned long before her suicide stint, but at least she had visited it every once in a while. Now, it just stood there by the ocean; sad, alone and forgotten. She wanted to do the same with this apartment. She was afraid that if she stayed there, the emotions she felt from that day would return and she didn't know what she would do.

"Gabriella?"

Focus returned and she found herself staring into Troy's bright blue eyes, laced with worry and concern. He said nothing as he stroked her cheek, trying to get her to respond to him. Her mouth opened, but nothing came out. She looked as if she wanted to say something, but didn't know what to say.

"May I use your bathroom?"

He grinned. "Technically, it's your bathroom since you own this place."

She nodded, but didn't return the grin. She wanted to, but she just couldn't. Turning on her heels, she went in the direction of the second bathroom and locked herself in. She took a seat on the edge of the bathtub and began to cry. She didn't want to be there. She wanted to abandon this place and be rid of the memories for good.

On the other side of the door, Troy stood with his ear against the door, listening to her cry. He could feel his heart twisting in his chest when he heard how broken she sounded. Sighing, he knocked on the door and heard the cries lower in volume.

"Gabriella, open the door."

He waited. Minutes later, he heard the lock click and he backed away from the door. When her tear-stained face came into view, his heart broke within his chest and he immediately pulled her into his arms. She buried her face into his chest as he buried his hand into her hair, messaging her scalp gently. Her fingers clutched his shirt as his other hand pulled her closer, trying to eliminate all space between them.

/0\

"It's the memories," she explained, her head tucked comfortably in the crook of his neck.

After twenty minutes of them standing in front of the bathroom door, he opted for them to move into his room where she could lay down. He hadn't expected to stay with her, but she pleaded for him to. So, he climbed in beside her and she curled up next to him; laying her head on his chest.

"Memories?"

She nodded. "I believe that every place someone has either lived in or visited has a memory for that person...even if they don't remember it. For instance, Sharpay's living room was where I got my tattoo."

"Her living room?"

"Yeah. It was...February 18th, my eighteenth birthday. I wanted a tattoo, so Shar called up a friend of hers that was an artist. Tawny was her name, and she had multiple tattoos on her body. She asked me what I wanted and I told her that I wanted a Lotus flower on my lower back. Tawny smirked and replied 'A tramp stamp? What would a good girl like you want with a tramp stamp?'. I told her that I was far from a good girl. She shook her head, shrugged and told me to lie on the floor; giving me fair warning that it would hurt. And like hell it did."

He chuckled. "I bet it did. That's what happens when you get something drilling just above your spine."

She smiled briefly before it went away. "But anyway, I've tended to stay away from places with bad memories because it just makes me feel horrible."

"Is that why you don't go to your beach house anymore?"

Her eyes flickered to his. "Sharpay told you, huh?"

"Not by choice. The topic kind of slipped and she knew I wouldn't stop nagging her if she didn't tell me."

She stared at the far wall in front of them. "I was in a bad place at that time; a place I didn't ever want to go back to."

"Sorry that I made you go back."

She shook her head. "You didn't. Believe me, Troy...what I was feeling that day was _nothing_ compared to what I felt when I was seventeen. Everything just seemed to go wrong and I was tired of it all. I wanted to die, but I didn't want to die alone. That was the reason why I called Sharpay. I didn't expect her to find me so fast, but I should have known. Sharpay knows me better than I know myself. She knew where I would be; knew where I wanted to be."

"That's why you took the sleeping pills; you wanted to die fast, but not fast enough to the point that Sharpay wouldn't reach you before your heart stopped."

"Exactly."

"So why did you slit your wrists this time?"

"Because I didn't expect for anyone to find me. I hadn't called Sharpay this time and I knew she would be spending time with her parents in San Diego. I didn't expect for her to call you or...for you to actually listen to her."

"Why would you think I wouldn't listen to her?"

"Because, Troy, you were so mad and I thought that you would just think that it was just me trying to get attention or something."

"Gabriella." He bit his tongue, trying to hold back the confession that stood at the tip of it. "Gabriella, you should have heard the way Sharpay sounded over the phone. I've never heard her sound so scared before. She wanted me to find you and I knew I had to."

"But only because she would have kicked your ass if you didn't."

He chuckled. "Yes, but also because...I was scared. I was scared that you would do something drastic and when I found you with your back propped against the wall like that, I was terrified. Whether you believe me or not, you've become a really important person in my life. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

As he buried his nose in her hair, her heart skipped a beat. Was that a confession? Was he inadvertently admitting that he liked her? She wanted to find out, but she was afraid of what he might say. Pushing it to the back of her mind, she looked for something else to say; something to take her mind off of the butterflies in her stomach.

"What are your parents like?" she asked, not realizing the wound she was picking at.

"What?"

She looked up. "Your parents; what are they like?"

"Why would you...?"

"You never tell me anything about yourself." She sat up; back to him. "You've never mentioned where you're from or the school you went to or what your friends were like and I...I know I'm prying again, but I really want to know more about you."

Lifting himself to mirror her, he ran his hand down her back. "I was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico and lived there until I turned eighteen. I had two friends, both of which knew me since Kindergarten. My parents are your typical American parents. My Dad's the coach of the High School basketball team and my Mom is a housewife."

"And your sister?" she asked, looking back at him.

He should have given her credit for figuring that one out. "My sister..." He smiled softly remembering his baby sister, "my sister is sweet, caring, headstrong...much like you actually. She's four years younger than me. Her birthday was the same day you went into the hospital."

"Sorry for ruining that."

He shook his head. "It's fine." That day had been ruined long before he had met Gabriella.

"You must really love her."

"I do. She was the one person I didn't want to let down."

"Was?" she asked, mimicking his reaction when she told him about her mother.

"She's not dead, she's just...I haven't seen her in five years."

"Oh. Well, at least you know where to find her."

"...Yeah."

"Troy..."

"What about you?" he asked, quickly changing the subject. "What was your life like before your brother died?"

She shrugged. "Much like it is now just a bit happier."

"What do you mean?"

"My Father never loved me. He loved my Mother and he loved Alejandro, but not me; never me. I'm nothing but a burden to him. He never calls to ask how I am or just to talk; it's always something about business. That's why he doesn't know about my attempted suicides. He didn't call, so I didn't tell him."

"Did your Mother know?"

"Yeah. She knew, but there was nothing she could do about it. She convinced him to at least be nice to me and act like a father, but he only did that when she was around and once she died, he stopped completely. But his hostility towards me caused my brother to hate him. Alejandro loved me...like you love your sister. He would do anything for me and that included standing up to our Father when he was being an asshole to me...but when he turned thirteen, he became a different person. He started hanging out with different people and I felt him slipping away from me.

Arguments with our Father about me turned into fist fights. I've never known Alejandro to be so violent, but that's what he became. It terrified me because he wasn't the loving brother I knew. He was someone else. I wanted to hate him for it, but then he would do something nice for me and I would forget all about hating him. But then...he died...and he left me without any protection from my Father's words."

"How old was he?"

"Seventeen. After his death, I started rebelling and began drinking."

"How old were you?"

"Thirteen."

"Thirteen? Are you serious?"

"Yeah."

"Shit, I didn't start until I was fifteen."

She grinned. "So I have two years on you?"

He chuckled. "Seems like it."

Happy to get off of the topic of her brother's death, she looked at him. "What made you start drinking?"

"Curiosity. In high school, I had a friend whose father was an alcoholic. Every day, we'd wait until he passed out and then we'd raid his liquor cabinet. At first, it was just curiosity, but afterwards, we would do it so we wouldn't have to think about the life we had."

"Your life didn't sound so bad."

"There were things that I was going through at that time."

"Teenage problems, huh?"

He nodded. "I guess you can say that."

"What about your first time? How old were you then?"

"Sixteen."

"Really?" she said with a smile. "So was I."

"There's a shock. I would have sworn you would have lost it earlier."

She shook her head. "Despite what my Father thinks, I was a virgin until I was sixteen. But...I don't actually remember it."

"Let me guess, you were drunk when it happened."

"Guilty."

"What do you remember?"

"Well, I don't remember his name. I think it was Mason, but I'm not sure. He was tall, had short blonde hair and baby blue eyes." She smiled slightly. "I thought he was some kind of god. It was at a house party where I met him. I was slightly wasted when he first came up to me, but I could still think correctly. By the time I was completely drunk, I could feel his hand on my thigh and I knew what he wanted. I wasn't refusing, so he took me up to one of the empty rooms and...everything else is a blur until I woke up the next morning; alone and in pain."

"And you really don't remember anything?"

"Nothing. Except for the strange fact that I woke up with my clothes on."

"What's so strange about that?"

"Because I could have sworn that he undressed me."

"Shit. He must have been feeling guilty if he actually put your clothes back on you before he left."

"Guilty? Why would he feel guilty?"

"Probably because he was your first. He most likely thought that you had already been deflowered beforehand. Ten bucks says that he had never taken anyone's virginity in his life before you."

"Then why didn't he stop when he felt something preventing him from going any further?"

"Because most men are horny bastards that just want sex."

She smirked. "Like you."

He nodded, returning the smirk. "Exactly. Speaking of which." He moved closer to her. "When are we gonna have another roll in the sac?"

Pushing him away, she made a disgusted noise while a smile decorated her face. "Perv."

"I thought you said you missed this side of me?"

"I did? What, the hell, was I thinking?"

"That you want me."

Laughing, she shook her head. "Not at all."

"Liar."

"I'm not lying."

"Yes you are."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

Troy pushed her onto her back and straddled her; his fingers finding her sides. "Are too," he said as he began tickling her.

"Stop," she laughed while trying to move his hands away. "Troy, s-stop, p-please."

"Not until you say that I'm the sexiest guy on Earth and you want me."

"I won't."

"Then I'm going to keep tickling you."

Her body jerked away from his fingers as he continued to caress her sides. Her infectious laughter was music to his ears, causing his heart to speed up and a smile to make its way to his face. Never, in his life, had he felt the way he did with her. It scared him, but thrilled him at the same time.

"Alright," she said, breathily. "Alright, I'll say it."

He stopped, but kept his fingers close to her body. "Really?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"Then say it."

Catching her breath, she opened her eyes and looked into the beautiful bright blue of his. "You're the sexiest guy on Earth and I want you."

Something about the way she said it—maybe the truth hidden in her big brown eyes—made his heart jump start. The smile that had been on his face slowly faded as he continued to stare at the woman beneath him. Her own smile removed itself from its place as the tension between them grew. Troy's eyes flickered from hers to her lips and, before he could stop himself, he leant down and kissed her.

Fire burned within his veins at the contact and he needed more. His hovering hands went to her sides and pushing her shirt up to feel the smooth expanse of skin beneath it while hers found his hair; fingers threading through his auburn tresses. A voice deep inside told him to stop while he still had a chance to, but he couldn't. He wanted this too much.

The soft sound of lips touching was soon drowned out by the ringing of phone. Neither of them, however, wanted to acknowledge it. After the fifth ring, the voicemail picked up and the familiar male voice that they both knew filled the apartment.

"_Gabriella, it's Max again. Look, I really wish you would call me. I'm worried about you."_ He was expecting someone to pick up the phone, but when no one did, he continued speaking. _"When you get this message, can you please,_ please_, call me? Bye."_

The intruding voice caused Troy to find himself again and he pulled away from her. She looked up at him with questioning eyes. She wanted to know why he stopped. If she said she hadn't been enjoying that, she would have been lying. If she had said that she wasn't turned on, she would have been lying.

"Troy." His eyes turned to hers. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "Nothing." He sat up on his heels. "You should probably call him before he has a heart attack or something."

"Troy..."

"I need to take a shower anyway." He got up and went into the bathroom without sparing Gabriella another glance.

Fighting the urge to cry, Gabriella got up and went into the living room to make a call. She pushed all thoughts of Troy to the back of her mind as she waited for Maximilian to pick up his phone.

"_Hello? Gabriella?"_

"Hey, Max. I, uh, got your message."

"_Where have you been? I've been calling you for the past two weeks."_

"I was just out of town, that's all."

"_Without telling anyone?"_

She laughed dryly. "You can ask my Father; it's what I do."

"_You could at least have told me, though. I was so worried."_

"You said there was something you wanted to ask me?" she asked, trying to get off the subject.

"_Oh, yeah. My grandparents are coming into town with my cousin who lives with them and I wanted to know if you wanted to have dinner with us?"_

"Yeah, sure. Just say when and what time."

"_Tonight, and I'll pick you up at seven?"_

She nodded. "I'll see you then, then."

"_Alright. Bye."_

"Bye."

She hung up the phone and sighed. Was it a good thing to meet more of Max's family? Okay, yes, it was a good thing in the aspect that they would be a part of her family soon, but did they know that this was an arranged marriage? Did they know that she and Max weren't in love? Groaning quietly, she placed the phone back on the base and lied down across the couch. She wished her life were easier; wished she could think of some way to get out of this predicament she was in.


	27. Chapter 26

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: I'm back. Had a lot of fun with my family, even though one of my cousins decided to ruin it by getting into an argument with her mother and starting up drama. But it was still fun. I got to see family I hadn't seen in a while and got to hang out with my cousins. There is a sex scene at the end of this chapter as well as the introduction of another character.**

**Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 26

Gabriella sat in the lobby of her apartment complex, awaiting Maximilian's arrival. He still had ten minutes before he was supposed to pick her up, but she liked to be early. You never knew what might happen. As she sat on the couch, listening as the doorman hummed a tune, she was surprised to see Taylor walking through the door.

"Long time no see, Taylor," she said as she stood.

The dark-skinned girl smiled and walked up to her neighbor and friend. "Very long time." They hugged. "How've you been?"

"I've been good. You?"

"Same. Just came from a job interview."

"Oh? And how did it go?"

"I think it went well, but you can never be sure." Gabriella nodded. "Where are you going?"

"Dinner."

"Ooo. With Troy?"

She shook her head. "No."

"But you wish?" Gabriella smiled shyly. "Finally realized that you like him?"

"Yes."

"So, if you're not going to dinner with Troy, who are you going to dinner with? Especially dressed up like that."

Gabriella looked down at her dress. She didn't think it was anything special and was as modest as she could get. It was royal purple that hugged her curves perfectly and straps that came up to tie behind her neck. The dress fell to her knees, revealing her long legs that were accentuated by a pair of black, open-toed, three inch stilettos. Now that she thought about it, her attire wasn't modest at all.

"Um...he's just a friend."

"He, huh? Is he cute?"

She shrugged. "I don't know."

"How do you not know?"

"Okay, so maybe he is cute, but I don't really see him in that light."

"You said that same thing about Troy and look what happened."

"Yeah, but I really mean it with this one. I really have _no_ romantic feeling towards him."

Taylor nodded. "If you say so."

"Taylor..." Her sentence was interrupted by Maximilian walking through the lobby door. He smiled at her and she smiled back. "Hey, Max."

"Hey." She walked up to him and kissed his cheek in greeting. "Who's this?" he asked, referring to Taylor.

She turned to her dark-skinned friend. "Max, this is Taylor; my neighbor. Taylor, this is Max."

Taylor smiled and held her hand out. "It's nice to meet you."

He shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, too."

Gabriella couldn't help but notice that they held onto each other's hands for a little bit longer than necessary. A wheel began to turn in her head and an idea on how to get out of this situation began forming.

"Gabriella, are you okay?" Maximilian asked, noticing the strange look on her face.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. So you ready to go?"

"Yeah."

"I'll talk to you later?" she asked Taylor, who in turn, nodded.

"It was really nice to meet you, Taylor," Maximilian spoke, his brown eyes looking over the woman in front of him.

She smiled and felt her cheeks heat up. She was glad her skin was dark enough so her blush didn't show. "Same here, Max."

As Maximilian ushered Gabriella out to his limousine, the brunette was silently singing a happy song. He liked her. Maximilian liked Taylor. This was her way out; her liberation from this arranged marriage. But would it work? There was a question she had to figure out first before dreaming about the day when she wouldn't have to worry about selling her life away.

/0\

"So how's Gabriella?" Zeke asked as he took a seat beside Troy in the surveillance office.

"Okay, let me just get this out right now. No, I haven't asked her if she would be willing to go out with you. I, truthfully, don't think she would anyway."

"I wasn't gonna ask that. I really just wanted to know how she was."

"Oh...she's good."

Zeke smiled. "So why do you think she wouldn't want to go out with me?"

Troy shrugged. "I don't know. You just...don't seem like her type."

"You like her don't you?"

Head snapping up, Troy stared at the man beside him. "What? No, I..."

"Don't even try to deny it. I've known that you liked her from the second I met her."

"Then...why...?"

"Because I wanted to see how you'd react and you reacted just how I thought you would; like a jealous boyfriend."

"I haven't acted like that," he said, mortified that Zeke had figured him out.

"Yes you have." Zeke sat back in his seat and crossed his arms. "Every time I asked about Gabriella, you'd get irritated and tell me off."

"That's because I was getting tired of you asking."

"Uh-huh, sure. Which is why you basically shunned me when I first asked you about her."

He sighed. "So what if I do? It's not gonna change anything."

"And what brings you to that conclusion?"

"She doesn't like me."

"And you know that how?"

"She just doesn't. I mean, she's an heiress; she'll most likely marry into money anyway so why would she waste her time with me."

"That's not what I've seen."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I've only seen her once, but from that first meeting, I could tell that she likes you."

"And how could you tell that?"

"Just by the way she looks at you."

"What are you talking about? She doesn't look at me in any kind of way."

"Of course she does, you just haven't noticed it."

"Notice? What's there to notice? Look, Zeke, she doesn't like me. Whether you believe me or not, I know for a fact that she doesn't like me."

"And _I_ know for a fact that she does. Just pay attention to the way she looks at you; the way her eyes seem to brighten whenever she's around you. You'll see what I'm talking about." Zeke stood and went to finish off his shift.

Troy sat there for a few minutes, staring at where Zeke had disappeared before turning back to the surveillance screens. Zeke was seeing things; he was sure of it. Gabriella had never shown any interest in starting a romantic relationship with Troy, and even if she had, he was sure that he wouldn't have let it happen. He _couldn't_ let it happen.

/0\

Raquel and Paul Mercer were Maximilian's paternal grandparents and Gabriella had been nervous about meeting them, but they seemed much nicer than Maximilian's parents. They were from Cambridge, Massachusetts—just outside of Boston—and had a strong sense of family. They spent most of each year visiting family members across the country. They also seemed very welcoming of Gabriella into their family. If it were a different situation, if Gabriella had actual feelings for Maximilian, she would have been happy to have Raquel and Paul as grandparents-in-law—even though she wasn't too fond of her future parents-in-law.

"So where's Kelsi?" Maximilian asked his grandmother.

"She's out with that boyfriend of hers, but she said she would be here soon. You know how she is; she likes to see the sights." Raquel turned her attention to Gabriella. "So, dear, are you excited for the wedding?"

Gabriella nodded. "More nervous than excited."

Raquel laughed. "I know how you feel. I was the same way when I married Paul. But don't worry, nervousness turns to excitement as the day grows nearer. When's the wedding again?"

"I told you, Mother, the wedding is on his twenty-fifth birthday," Georgia answered.

"I believe I was asking Gabriella."

Georgia tried not to show how hurt she was, but it was all over her face. Raquel hated Georgia. She had never wanted her son to marry the woman. Paul was indifferent to the relationship. He didn't like her, but he didn't hate her either. Georgia tried hard to earn acceptance from her mother-in-law and it made Gabriella almost sorry for the woman..._almost_.

"Um, where's the bathroom?" Gabriella asked Maximilian quietly.

"It's down the hall; third door on your left."

"Thank you. Excuse me." She stood and started off towards the bathroom.

As she made her way down the hallway, she took in the interior of the rest of the house. The Mercer household was much bigger than her own, but that was a given since they had more money than her family. Her attention was caught by the view of the backyard and curiosity took over. Forgetting her need to relieve herself, she went towards the back door and stepped out into the cool night air.

"You must be Gabriella."

The voice startled her and she turned around, coming face to face with a woman she'd never seen before. This must have been Maximilian's cousin. Smiling, she held out her hand.

"And you must be Kelsi. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too," she said, shaking Gabriella's hand. "You're prettier than Maximilian said you were."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Though...he said it as more as a friend talking about another friend."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when he said it, he didn't sound like he was enamored with you. He just sounded like he was talking about one of his close friends."

"I guess that make sense."

"You guys aren't in love, are you?"

"No."

"Then why are you getting married?"

"Convenience. He needs to marry before he's 25 and I...I want to help him out."

Yes, she was lying again, but she didn't really want to tell a woman that she barely knew that she was only doing this to get her father's acceptance. Besides, if she didn't believe her, Kelsi could always get the information from Maximilian, who would undoubtedly tell her.

"So you willingly gave up your single status to help out my cousin?"

"Well...can you keep a secret?"

"Of course I can."

"I didn't _exactly_ give up my single status."

"Ooo. Cheating on Max?"

"Please don't tell."

"Don't worry, I won't. It's not really cheating if you and him don't even see each that way. Is it just one guy or a bunch of them?"

"Just one. I wouldn't exactly say we are dating though. I'm not even sure what we are."

"Do you like him?"

Gabriella nodded. "I do."

"So what will you do when the time comes to give him up?"

"I don't know. I really don't know."

/0\

When Gabriella walked through her front door an hour later, she barely noticed the male sitting on the couch until she found herself staring into his bright blue eyes. She smiled slightly at him before crossing into the living room and taking a seat beside him. They sat in a comfortable silence; the only sound coming from the television screen. Neither of them knew what to say to each other. The last time they had seen each other was when he walked out the door to head to work. Words hadn't been exchanged then, either.

The silence was deafening. Glancing over at her, Troy could see a conversation going on in her head, but he couldn't make out what it was. Her eyes seemed to go through a whirlwind of different emotions; from happy, to sad, to angry and more. He wanted to get her mind off of whatever it was.

"Can I ask you something?" Troy asked, breaking the silence between them.

"S-Sure."

"It's actually something that's been eating at me for a while. What caused you to have a fear of water?"

Truthfully, she wasn't expecting that question. She didn't know why she was expecting him to ask more about Maximilian, but was somewhat glad that he hadn't.

"Well, I wasn't always. I mean, I didn't love the water, but I didn't hate it. My Father thought that swimming lessons were a waste of time since Alejandro learned how to swim without them. He thought I could do the same. One summer, my parents took us to our family beach house; I was eight, Alejandro was twelve. I spent days on end watching as my Father and Alejandro play fought in the water. At that age, I was well aware of my Father's disdain for me and I was jealous that I couldn't have fun with them.

So, instead of sitting there like I had been, I got into the water and started towards them, too young and naïve to realize that I was too short for my feet to reach the ground where they were. I went under. Panic and fear went through me. I was sure I was going to die, but, luckily, Alejandro saved me. After that, I became afraid of water and Alejandro began to hate our Father. I didn't learn why until later."

"He saw you drowning, didn't he? He saw, but he refused to do anything about it."

She nodded. "Yeah. He was the closest to me, but he didn't even try to save me. Alejandro was furious and his relationship with him was never the same."

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"That you got stuck with a man like that for a father. I mean, how could he just sit back and let his daughter drown?"

She shrugged. "The same way he could watch his daughter go down the path of no return and not bother to help. If it weren't for Sharpay, I would have lost myself long ago."

"Then you're lucky to have her."

Smiling, she turned to him. "Now that you've asked me something, may I ask you a question?"

"Sure. Why not?"

"Did you really lose your virginity at sixteen?"

He chuckled. "Yes, I did."

"Really?" she asked, pulling her feet underneath her. "Are you telling the honest truth?"

"I swear, I'm being truthful."

Tilting her head, Gabriella tried to figure out what was wrong. "Was it not what you expected?"

"No, it was everything I expected just...not the _person_ I expected and I regret it to this very day."

"What do you mean?"

He sighed. "Back in high school, I met this girl; her name was Callie. She was the girl every guy wanted, but some way or another she chose me. We weren't exclusive, though. She still dated other guys; still fucked whoever she wanted, but she considered me her boyfriend. I knew I wanted her to be my first, even though I didn't actually love her."

"What happened?" she asked, softly, noticing the pained look on his face.

"Callie's parents had divorced when she was twelve and Callie blamed her mother for pushing her father away. And even though she lived primarily with her mother, the weekends—when she would stay with her father—were the best times for her. Somehow, I managed to gather up the courage to ask her to be my first and I went over to her house, ready to ask, but she hadn't gotten home from her father's yet. Her mother offered for me to come in and wait, saying it wouldn't be long before she came home. I told her I didn't want to intrude and then I noticed she kept rolling her shoulders. I asked about it, she said that she done some heavy lifting and it did a number on her shoulder blades."

"You offered her a massage, didn't you?"

He grinned slightly and nodded. "Yeah. At first she wasn't willing to take one, but after demonstrative persuasion, she agreed. One minute, I'm massaging her shoulders, the next...the next I'm screwing her on the living room sofa. And, let me tell you, she was amazing."

"Even more amazing than me?"

Chuckling, he shook his head. "No. You are, to date, the best fuck I've ever had."

"Don't know if I should feel honored or insulted." Realizing she was interrupting his story, she told him to continue.

"During, I felt great; I felt like I had never felt before, but after...after I felt disgusted at myself. I had just had sex with my girlfriend's mother. She wanted to have another go, but I was just too disappointed in myself that I had to leave. Lucky I did, too. Callie came home ten minutes later. She would have caught us if we had gone through a second round. For the next two weeks, I couldn't look at Callie the same way. Every time I looked at her, I saw her mother's face writhing beneath me. In a desperate attempt to try and force the memories out of my head, I told Callie that I wanted to finally sleep with her.

One week. One _torturous_ week, Callie and I did nothing but fuck, but I couldn't stop seeing her mother's face. Finally, she asked me what was wrong and...I told her. I told her that I slept with her mother and she slapped the shit out of me. She told me that she never wanted to see me again and to stay away from her mother. I obliged, though I knew there was nothing Callie could do to really stop me from going near her mother. It wasn't like she could tell someone what happened. If she did, her mother would be sent to jail and she could never send her mother away, no matter how much she hated the woman."

"And that's why you regret your first time, because it wasn't with the person you wanted and you ended up hurting someone you cared about?"

He nodded. "Yep. That seems to be a habit of mine."

"What does?"

Turning to her, his eyes locked with hers, wanting her to know the truth behind what he was about to say. "Hurting the ones I care about."

Smiling sadly, she pushed his hair out of his eyes before leaning in and kissing the side of his mouth. He wanted to shift his head so her lips met his, but he fought it. He didn't need to complicate things any further. As if reading his mind, she brought her mouth to his and kissed him. Troy quickly moved away before he could kiss back.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just... It's getting late." He turned off the television and stood to head towards his room.

"Troy." He stopped, but didn't turn towards her. "W-Would it be okay if I slept in your room?"

"Why?" he asked, finally turning to her.

"I can't go up there; I just can't."

Nodding, he watched as she lifted herself from the couch and head towards him. She smiled in gratitude and walked into the room ahead of him. When he walked in seconds later, he found the bathroom door open with the lights on.

"Troy, can I borrow one of your shirts?"

"Yeah, sure." He went through one of his dresser draws looking for a shirt for her to wear. When he found one, he made his way to the bathroom to hand it to her. "Here."

She smiled and took it from him. "Thanks."

"Still wearing make-up I see," he said, leaning against the door frame.

"Not as much as I used to," she answered, wiping off her lipstick. "All I have on is lipstick, eyeliner and eye shadow. That's it."

His arousal was at its peak as he stared at the female in front of him. He tried to fight it, tried to hold it down, but with the inability to reach his release over the past week, it was a losing battle. His eyes stayed trained on her face, watching as she removed the last bit of make-up on her face, but soon traveled south until it reached her cleavage. His mouth ran dry as his dick pulsated.

Without a word, he stepped up behind her and undid the straps tied around her neck. Gabriella watched him carefully, pretty sure where this was headed. When the ties were off, his mouth found her neck and kissed it softly. His fingers ran down her back until it reached the zipper of her dress and pulled it down. She shuddered at the feeling of his hands on her bare back, wishing they were touching someplace else. Moving to the hem of her dress, he pushed it up and felt the curve of her ass and nothing else.

"A thong?" he asked. He hadn't expected to look down and not find her wearing any underwear, but he also hadn't expected to look down and find her wearing a purple lace thong, either. "Who were you wearing this for?"

She smiled seductively as she caught his eye in the mirror. "You."

Arousal increasing tenfold, he turned her around and sat her on the edge of the sink. His mouth found hers as his fingers hooked into the waistline of her panties and began to pull them down. Her body lifted slightly to allow him to get the thong from off her hips and down her legs. With the lacy object on the floor, Gabriella's hands went to his pants and quickly began undoing the buttons. He helped move the process along by removing his belt and pushing his pants down once all restraints were dealt with.

Breaking the kiss, Troy pulled her closer to him and situated himself so he was directly parallel to her. Running his tip along her lips, he listened as she inhaled sharply and rubbed his nose against hers. He watched her for a few minutes, loving the way her brows furrowed and the way she bit her lip. He'd never seen someone more beautiful than this woman in his life. Reattaching their lips, he pushed into her, penetrating her folds, and letting the feeling of safety wash over him once more.

Their bodies moved as one as his arm wrapped tightly around her waist and her hands gripped his back. Feeling his legs becoming weak, he moved to the toilet seat and sat down on the lid, allowing her to ride him. His fingers dug into her skin as she skillfully rolled her hips and pressed her fingernails into his shoulders. A loud moan escaped her full, swollen lips when he roughly grasped one of her breasts and wrapped his mouth around her nipple.

"Troy," she whimpered and he looked up at her, his blue eyes looking upon her with adoration.

She'd never seen that look before. It was strange to see it in him of all people, but she wasn't complaining. Releasing her breast, he kissed her once, then twice before just leaning his forehead against hers and opting for looking into her eyes. He wanted to see the expression in them when she reached her orgasm. She bit her lip as she stared back; not wanting to lose this unofficial staring contest. But as she reached her peak, she couldn't help but close her eyes as waves of pleasure crashed through her. Troy, however, wasn't done.

Picking her up, he carried her into his room where he fucked her again and again until he finally felt release hit him. It wasn't until she had reached her fourth orgasm did he see the look in her eyes; the one that Zeke had told him was there. It was that look that caused him to finish; to spill his seed into her, silently hoping that he didn't get her pregnant.

As he laid there in the afterglow, her sleeping body curled comfortably into his side, he thought about what to do next. Was it true? Did she really have strong feelings for him? Or was that look in her eyes just a figment of his imagination? He hoped it wasn't.

Glancing down at the woman lying naked beside him, he knew that it was far too late for him to allow himself to let her go. Without his knowing, she had effectively burrowed her way under the walls around his heart and made herself comfortable. Pushing her away would only hurt them both. He couldn't hurt her again; not unless her life depended on it. Shifting so he was lying on his side, he hadn't meant to disturb her, but she stirred anyway.

"Troy," she moaned softly.

"Shh," he reprimanded. "Go back to sleep."

Nodding, she drifted back into an unconscious state. He stared at her for a few minutes, his fingers stroking her cheek gently before pulling her close, resting his chin on top of her head and following her into dreamland.


	28. Chapter 27

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: The chapter you've all been waiting for. Sorry for the shortness of it.**

**Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 27

Gabriella awoke to the sunlight on her face and she opened her eyes, trying to gain her bearings. Feeling something warm and heavy weighing down her on side, she glanced down and found a hand attached to an arm draped protectively over her. She smiled, remembering who the arm belonged to and turned over so she could look at him. Troy was a completely different person when he slept; he looked more at peace than he did while he was awake. The sound of her stomach grumbling alerted her to the fact that she was hungry and she, carefully, lifted his arm off of her in order to climb out of bed without disturbing him.

She made her way to the kitchen and began cooking breakfast. She knew it wouldn't be long before he followed; her absence or the smell of food would wake him. Minutes into fixing breakfast, she heard his bedroom door open and his bare feet padding against the floor. Seconds after, his arms wrapped around her mid-section and his lips found her neck. Somehow, in the past few days, Troy had seemed to completely take a one-eighty turn and became more of a boyfriend than a friend. Gabriella wasn't complaining though. But the topic of their feelings for each other had never come up.

"Morning," he breathed against her skin.

"Morning. Slept well?"

"You know it."

Grinning, she ran her free hand over his and laced their fingers. Sex had been the main activity they found themselves doing together, along with getting to know more about each other. He was still hiding something from her, though. She knew that because every time she came to the subject of meeting his family one day, he'd quickly start talking about something else. After the third time of asking him, she stopped completely, knowing she would push him away if she kept trying.

"So what's for breakfast?"

"Bacon, eggs; stuff like that."

Chuckling, he began rubbing his crotch against her backside. "I wasn't talking about food."

"Don't you ever get tired?"

"Of course, but I had a very wonderful dream this morning and it left me with a bit of a problem."

"An erection?"

"No. The need to hear you screaming my name."

"Well, unfortunately for you, I'm exhausted."

"Aww. Come on."

"Troy...we had sex for three hours last night. How can you still be horny?"

"Told you, I had a dream that left me this way." He tightened his grip on her stomach and kissed her shoulder. "Come on, just once."

"I don't know."

Using his other hand, he slipped underneath her underwear and caressed her with his middle finger. "Please."

Her breath caught in her throat and she was unable to respond using words, so she nodded her head instead. Turning off the stove, Troy moved them so they wouldn't get hurt and turned her to face him. She smiled seductively and jumped onto the counter. Just as their lips were about to touch, the phone rang. Gabriella sighed and cursed whoever it was that was calling her this early in the morning.

"Who, the hell, calls this early?"

"Early? Gabriella, have you looked at the clock? It's noon already."

She glanced at the digital clock on the back of the stove and laughed. "Wow. I never sleep that late."

"That's what having mind-blowing sex with me will do to you."

She rolled her eyes. "You and your ego."

He chuckled. "So are you gonna get that?"

Contemplating for a second, she shook her head and smirked. "Let the machine get it. I have more important business to attend to."

Lips touching, they allowed themselves to get carried away and ignore the constant ringing of the phone. But a phone could only be ignored for so long; it would either be stopped when someone got sick of hearing it, or it would be picked up when someone realized that the contents of the intended message were not for others to hear.

"_Gabriella, this is Georgia. Listen, I was talking it over with Tobias and Maximilian and we think it would be fitting if you wore my wedding dress."_

The words 'wedding dress' registered into Gabriella's mind and she quickly broke away from Troy to pick up the phone.

"Hello? Georgia?"

"_Oh, you are home."_

"Yeah, I was just in the shower."

"_Well, what do you think about wearing my dress?"_

"I think it would be an honor."

"_Great. How about you come over later on and we can get you fitted?"_

"Sure, that sounds...great."

"_Alright. Then I'll see you later."_

"Yeah, bye."

She hung up the phone and prepared herself to be bombarded by questions. But they never came. Turning slightly, she expected to see Troy standing there, glaring at her for lying to him, but he wasn't. Instead, he was leaning against the kitchen counter with his head down.

"Troy..."

"So, you're getting married...huh?" She nodded, though she knew he couldn't see her. "That's, uh, that's great."

"Listen," She walked to him, situating herself in front of him, "Troy, I..."

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, picking his head up; his azure eyes shining with hurt and confusion.

"Because I...I don't know."

"Is it that Max guy? Is that who you're marrying?"

Sighing, she nodded. "Yes."

He wanted to hit something, but he restrained himself. "I asked you," he said, pain evident in his voice. "I specifically asked you who he was to you and you told me he was just a friend."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, reaching up to touch his cheek. "I'm so sorry."

He pushed her hand away, shaking his head. "No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I allowed myself to get attached to you."

As he went to walk away, she grabbed his arm. "Please, Troy, just let me explain."

"What is there to explain, Gabriella?" he asked, chuckling bitterly. "You love the guy and you want to spend the rest of your life with him; it's not hard to understand."

"But, I..."

"Look, who you want to marry is none of my business. I wish you both the best of luck; God knows he'll need it."

"Why are you acting this way?"

"Acting what way?"

"Like a selfish asshole?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe it's because I've been made to believe that maybe something could have happened between us, when in reality, I was nothing more than a cheap fuck."

"That's not how I see you."

"Sure it's not."

"I'm telling the truth, Troy. You mean a lot to me."

"If that were anywhere near the truth, then you would call off this wedding."

"I-I can't."

He nodded, smiling sardonically. "Of course you can't. Why? Because you're in love with the guy."

"No, I..."

"Stop denying it, Gabriella. You're gonna hurt his feelings."

"Troy, please, just give me a chance to explain everything."

"There is nothing to _explain_. He loves you; you love him. And in a few months time, you're gonna wear that white dress and walk down that aisle with all your family and friends looking on. Then, you're gonna promise that you will honor him in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer—though I doubt he'll ever go poor—til death do you part and then you'll say your 'I dos'. Then you'll go to your honeymoon and maybe a few years down the line, you'll pop out a few kids and life will be perfect because you're spending the rest of your life with the one you wanted. I think I just summed up the rest of your life in a nutshell. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go to work."

He excused himself to his room and left Gabriella alone. It was like déjà vu for the both of them. But Troy had made sure he hadn't said anything that would set her off this time around. He didn't want a repeat of before. No matter how angry he was at her for lying to him, he wouldn't be able to stand it if she tried to kill herself again.

/0\

"You've been awfully quiet," Kelsi noted as they walked side by side along the shore.

After watching Troy leave for work, not a single look her way, Gabriella had called up the brunette and asked her if she wanted to meet her at Venice beach. The girl agreed and they met up an hour and a half later. For the past ten minutes, Gabriella had stayed silent, her mind still on her current problem.

"Sorry, I just...he found out."

"Who did?"

"The guy I'm seeing. He found out that I'm engaged to Max."

"But you two weren't serious, so..."

"We weren't up until a few days ago. He started acting like a boyfriend and I just went with it. I always wanted that from him, so I wasn't complaining. It was the first time that he ever looked at me like I was the only one in the world. Before, he always held this guarded expression in his eye, but those few days, they were nowhere to be found. And then, Max's mother called this morning and everything I had been trying to hide from him was brought into the light. And now...now he hates me."

"How do you know he hates you?"

"When he left for work, he couldn't even look at me."

"Gabriella, it was bound to happen. You would have had to have given him up anyway once the wedding nears."

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the night of dinner, Max met a neighbor of mine and they seemed to click. I was hoping that I could get them together and maybe I wouldn't have to marry Max."

"But what if it doesn't work? What if what you saw was just your heart tricking you?"

"There's only one way to know, right?"

Kelsi sighed. "What about your Father?"

"What?"

"Maximilian told me the truth about why you're marrying him. I confronted him about it because, well, I didn't exactly believe you when you told me you just wanted to help him. So, he told me about how you're only marrying him because you want your Father's acceptance. If you manage to get Maximilian and this girl together, then you run the risk of ruining the merger between your Father's company and Max's and you'll never get his approval."

"He told you all of that, huh?"

She nodded. "I know what it's like to want a parent's love and acceptance. My sister and I had to go through that every day with our Father."

"What for?"

"We were both adopted; adopted to replace the daughters he and his wife had lost. Our Mother accepted us immediately, but he didn't. He refused to see us as his daughters. It caused a rift between him and our Mom and they fought all the time. They fought so much that it caused my sister to run away."

"Did she ever come back?"

"Yeah. But every time they fought, she'd run until...one day she didn't come back."

"What happened to her?"

Kelsi looked down and fought back her tears. "She was picked up by this guy at the side of the highway. He raped her, then he killed her and threw her body into Boston Harbor. The police never found her body."

"Then how do you know this all actually happened?"

"Because the guy admitted to it. He admitted to it all."

"I'm so sorry, Kelsi."

She shook her head. "It's fine." She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes. "Think about this, Gabriella. What do you want more: your Father's love or the love of a guy who could be gone tomorrow?"

**A/N: Sorry if Kelsi comes off as the antagonist in this chapter. I didn't mean for her to be that way...but that's how she came out. One step forward, two steps back.**


	29. Chapter 28

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: This chapter jumps a lot and that's only because, well, my mind plays off everything like a movie. The way I see it in my head is the way I write it, which is probably why I don't think I'm a good writer. Also I changed Alejandro's death age from fifteen to seventeen back in chapter 25, but I changed it like an hour after I posted it (I have memory problems so this is why I'm just mentioning this now).**

**Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 28

He didn't come home that night.

Or the night after.

Or the night after.

She sat up for the first night, awaiting his return, but was disappointed when he hadn't come. A fitful sleep came hours later as she lay across the couch. His disappearance caused her to worry and she was unable to sleep the next night. On the second night, she tried calling his cell phone, but there was no answer. She didn't know if that meant that it was dead or if he just wasn't picking up.

On the third night, Gabriella had grown tired of lying on the couch and moved into his room. It was there that she managed to drift into a dreamless sleep using his embedded scent on the pillows and sheets to comfort her.

She awoke that same night to the sound of what she thought was the front door slamming. Her body jolted upward as she listened for footsteps or some kind of sign that he had returned. But when her ears were met with complete silence, she pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her knees. Sobs wracked her petite body as she began to cry. She wished he would come back; wished she could tell him the truth.

/0\

"Gabriella!" Sharpay called as she knocked furiously on her best friend's front door. "Gabriella Marie, open the damn door!"

Sharpay hadn't heard from her best friend in a couple of days and it scared her. She tried calling, but there was no answer. Fear rose within her after the hundredth time she received no answer. So, she decided to pay the brunette a visit. She needed to know that Gabriella was still alive.

"Goddamn it, Gabriella, open this fucking door!"

When the door opened minutes later, Sharpay felt her heart going to pieces as she gazed upon Gabriella's face; tear-stained cheeks and blood-shot eyes. Without saying a word, she pulled her best friend into her arms and held her as Gabriella began to cry all over again.

/0\

"So what happened?"

Sharpay had stood in the doorway, holding her sobbing best friend, for a good half an hour before Gabriella calmed down enough for them to move inside. They took a seat on the couch where the brunette proceeded to stare blankly at the black television screen until Sharpay decided to ask what had gotten her so depressed.

"He found out...and then he left...and he hasn't been back since."

The blonde didn't need to ask who Gabriella was talking about. No one else could have had this effect on her best friend except for the blue-eyed idiot who'd managed to steal Gabriella's heart. Wrapping her arms around the brunette's shoulders, Sharpay tried to find the right words to say.

"How long has he been gone?"

"Four days."

"Did he say anything before he left?"

She shook her head. "No. He...he wouldn't even look at me."

"Why didn't you tell him the truth? Why didn't you tell him that you have no choice in this wedding?"

"I tried...believe me, I tried, but he wouldn't listen...he wouldn't even give me a chance." Tightly clutching the throw pillow that she had been holding onto, Gabriella fought off another wave of tears. "I'm so worried about him. I tried calling his phone, but he hasn't answered. He probably hates me for lying to him."

"So what if he does? That gives him no right to do this to you."

Gabriella turned towards her friend. "What am I gonna do, Shar?"

"Well...you're gonna tell him the truth."

"How? How can I tell him when he won't even speak to me?"

"Let me take care of that."

"But we don't even know where he is."

"I have an idea." Sharpay dug inside her pink leather Louis Vutton purse and pulled out her iPhone. It took her three seconds to find the number she needed and quickly pressed dial. "Hey, it's me. Is your best friend there?"

/0\

Chad Danforth had been caught off guard when his best friend showed up at his door; eyes blood-shot, the smell of booze on his breath and the scent of marijuana on his clothes. He hadn't asked any questions. The broken look in the male's blue eyes told him not to. Without a second thought, Chad set up a bed on the couch and lent him some spare clothes. Once he had sobered up, Chad attempted to get information from him, but he refused to say anything. That was four days ago.

"How much longer are you gonna stay here?"

"Are you kicking me out?"

"No, but I do think you're being childish."

"Childish? About what?"

"About whatever it is that Gabriella did or said to you."

Troy's eyes darkened slightly. "You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

Sitting up, Troy allowed one leg to dangle over the side of the couch while he pulled the other towards him. "She's getting married."

"Married? To who?"

"I don't know. All I know is that she lied to me."

"About?"

"About her relationship to the guy she's supposedly marrying."

"I thought you said you don't know the guy?"

"I don't. I just know his name. He called a few times while she was in the hospital. I asked her about him and she told me he was just a friend." He scoffed. "What a fucking lie that was."

"So you're...jealous?"

His blue eyes rolled in annoyance. "Yes, Chad, I'm jealous. And, yes, I do like her. Happy to hear it now?"

"Very much so. But what are _you_ gonna do?"

"What is there for me to do? Nothing. Not a Goddamn thing. She loves him. She's gonna marry him."

"Are you sure she loves him?"

"Of course. Why else would she marry the guy?"

"Troy..." Before Chad could continue, his phone rang and he sighed before stepping into his room to answer it. "Hello?"

"_Hey, it's me. Is your best friend there?"_

"Hey, Shar, and, yeah, he's here."

"_Make sure he doesn't go anywhere. Gabriella and I are coming over."_

"As long as I don't tell him that piece of information, believe me," Chad looked at Troy, who was staring blankly at nothing, "he's not going anywhere."

"_Good. We'll be over in a few."_

/0\

"Sharpay, why are we here?" Gabriella asked as they stood outside of Chad's door.

"Because we need to resolve this issue right now."

"But he won't _listen_ to me."

"I know, but I'll make him listen to _me_." She knocked on the door and seconds later Chad appeared. "Where is he?"

"Is that anyway to greet your boyfriend?"

Smiling, she pecked his lips. "Hi. Now, where is he?"

Chad motioned for her to come inside, but Sharpay was stopped by a hand on her wrist. She turned to Gabriella, who wore a mortified look on her face.

"I can't, Shar."

"Then you stay out here, while I deal with the jackass."

Nodding, Gabriella let go of Sharpay's wrist and watched her best friend disappear inside. The door closed slightly, leaving a sliver open to allow her to hear the conversation. Sharpay stalked into the living room and crossed her arms when she found Troy lying down with an arm over his eyes. She waited for him to acknowledge her presence, but when he didn't, she hit him on his leg.

"Ow! What the...?" His blue eyes met Sharpay's molten brown eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to beat some sense into you."

He sighed and moved so he was sitting the right way on the couch. "If this is about your best friend, then you're wasting your breath."

"What is _wrong_ with you? Do you realize how hurt and upset Gabriella is?"

"How hurt _she_ is? Like I give a shit how hurt she is. She's the one who lied to me."

Chad cringed as the first swear word flew out of his best friend's mouth. He was glad he had taken Destiny to the babysitter that morning. He did not want her to hear the words that were bound to be thrown around in the course of this argument.

"And if she would have told you, what would you have done, huh?"

His blue eyes turned purple. "I wouldn't have let myself feel anything for her."

"Even if she feels something for you?"

Her eyes appeared before him; that look in them that sent his heart into a frenzy. But that hadn't been real. It was only his mind producing things he wanted to see. "Feels something for me? Why would she feel _anything_ for me when she's marrying someone else?"

"She doesn't have a choice."

"Why wouldn't she have a choice?"

"Believe me, the fact of the matter is, she has no choice."

"Oh, I get it. You can't choose who you love, right? Is that where you're going with this? She has no choice because she's in love with _Max_?" Venom spewed from his lips as he said Maximilian's name.

Sharpay was furious. "No dickwad; she doesn't fucking love Max. She never has and never will."

"Then she must be in it for the sex. Did she tell you if she fucked him, yet? Or have they not gotten to that point? I hope I get to meet him one day so I can tell him how much of an animal she is in bed."

"You're _such_ an _ass_."

"And you're a bitch. Are we done here?"

"No, not until you go apologize."

"Apologize? Apologize for what? She should be the one apologizing to me; for stringing me along like that."

"She didn't make you do what you didn't want to do."

Glaring, he stood. "You know what? You can go fuck yourself, cause I'm done here. I'm done with your bullshit and I'm done with Gabriella's."

"Troy, don't you think you're being a little harsh?" Chad asked.

"Oh, so what, now you're on their side?"

"I'm on no one's side. I just think you're being childish. I mean, two weeks ago, you were trying to fight back the feelings you had for her and now you're upset because she lied to you about her relationship with another guy? Two weeks ago, you would have never let it get to you, so why now?"

Voices all talked at one time. He didn't want to listen to the more prominent one in his head, so he drowned it out, instead choosing the one that fit more to his liking. "Because...I thought that she actually _did_ feel something for me...and then I realized that it was nothing more than my imagination."

"That's not true." All eyes turned towards the door, where Gabriella stood; fresh tears in her eyes. "It's not true. What you saw...it was real."

Snapping out of his stupor. "I'm sure it was," he responded sarcastically.

"Why can't you believe me?"

"Because you're still gonna marry the fucker."

"I told you," Sharpay started, "she has no fucking choice."

"Then why, the fuck, is she marrying him?"

"Because I have to!" Gabriella shouted, before disappearing into the hallway and down the staircase.

Confusion swept through him. "W-What?"

Sighing, Sharpay calmed herself before continuing. "The only reason why she's marrying Max is because her Father told her she has to. _She_. _Has. No. Choice._"

His blue eyes narrowed. "She does have a choice. She can tell her Father to 'fuck off' and be done with it. If she chooses to keep up with this damn arranged marriage, then that's her problem. I refused to be dragged along just so I can be thrown away later."

Without another word, Troy left Chad's apartment.

/0\

It wasn't like Gabriella to cry in public, but she couldn't help it. Troy's words stung. They stung and they prodded and they picked away at her already breaking heart. She was somewhat glad that it was dark out; no one could see her crying. The sound of a door closing, followed by footsteps made her look up and she saw Troy's form begin down the street. She wasn't sure if he saw her or not, but she began to follow him anyway.

She followed him for a good twenty minutes; curiosity flooding her when she recognized the area in which she had dropped him off that night after Sharpay's beach party. What was here that he possibly could go to? When he stopped at one of the warehouses, she ducked behind a couple of crates as to not be seen and watched him scan the area for anything that seemed out of place. She hoped that she was well hidden. The tears that had been falling earlier had long since stopped and she was somewhat glad because it made spying easier to do.

He knocked on the door three times before it opened. Out stepped a tall, blonde haired male who seemed to know Troy. He smiled and said a few words before allowing Troy to step inside. Gabriella didn't move from her spot. She waited, patiently, for Troy to reemerge, but when a half an hour passed by and he didn't, she knew she had to take action. Standing, she walked over to the door and knocked like Troy had. The door opened and the tall male looked down at her, confused.

"May I help you?"

"Um...I'm looking for Troy Bolton."

"And how do you know he's here?"

"I was following him," she admitted, albeit blushing in embarrassment, "and I saw him come in here."

"This is for your own good, sweetheart, I think you should just go home."

She shook her head. "Not until I see him."

The man sighed before motioning her inside. She stepped inside the warehouse and found that it looked nothing like it did on the outside. It reminded her of one of the speakeasies from the 1930s.

"Follow me."

She did so, following him down the long hallway. When they came to a door, he gestured for her to wait while he peered inside. She heard his voice murmur something followed by another voice before he opened the door completely and allowed her to walk in. Confusion came over her when she was greeted by a short, stocky male, seated behind a desk. On his lap, sat a scantily clad blonde female; her blue eyes holding a question in them.

"Please, don't be shy; step in further." Reluctantly, Gabriella stepped further into the room. She watched as the man stood up, knocking the woman off his lap, and moved to the front of his desk. The female opted for seating herself on the edge of a glass table; her eyes seeming to scream at Gabriella to leave. "Liev tells me you're looking for Troy Bolton."

Turning her gaze from the woman, she nodded. "Yes. I followed him here and I just wanted to know if he was okay."

"Oh, he's better than okay. Believe me." The man turned to the blonde and smiled. "Daisy, why don't you show this young woman to the room where Troy is?"

The blonde, Daisy, nodded and stood, walking up to Gabriella. "Please follow me." Gabriella followed, but the second they were in the hallway, Daisy turned to her. "Please, _please_, I'm begging you, leave now. What you find here you will not like."

"Excuse me?"

"The Troy that you will find behind these walls is not the same Troy you know outside," she said, her Southern drawl coming out more than it had before. "Please, you must go."

"I will not leave until I see him." She turned to walk further down the hall, but she was stopped by a hand on her wrist.

"I know you have strong feelings for Troy, I can see it in your eyes, but if you don't want that to be tainted, you must leave."

Gabriella was about to say something when the ring on the woman's finger caught her gaze. "Where did you get that?" she asked, recognizing that piece of jewelry to be the one she thought she lost nearly four months ago.

"Morris gave this to me. Why does it matter?"

"Is there something wrong, ladies?" the stocky male from before asked when he was alerted by one of his men that they were still in the hallway.

"Are you Morris?" Gabriella asked.

"I am."

"Where did you get this?" She lifted Daisy's hand, showing him the ring.

"It was used as payment for a debt by one of my customers."

Shutting her eyes, Gabriella had a horrible feeling that she already knew who it was, but she refused to believe it. "W-Who?"

Eyes still closed, she didn't see the troubled look on Daisy's face nor the sick smirk that overtook Morris' before he answered her.

"A man by the name of Troy Bolton."

The sound of her heart shattering within her chest cause her eyes to open and the first tear to fall. He lied to her. Here he was getting on her about lying to him about Max and, yet, he lied to her from the very beginning about her ring.

"W-Where is he?"

"Follow me."

"No," Daisy said, holding Gabriella back. "I know you're mad at him, but don't do this; don't go to him."

"I have to."

Prying the woman's hand from her arm, Gabriella followed Morris down the hallway; anger and hurt bubbling inside of her. She couldn't believe he had gotten upset about her lying to him, when he had been doing the same thing. She had a few choice words to say to him; a few choice words that only Sharpay Evans would say. All that, however, went out the window when Morris stopped at a door and opened it, allowing her to peer inside.

All thoughts rushed from her mind as her jaw dropped in disbelief. There, in front of her, was Troy Bolton, seated on a couch with two prostitutes—one with her mouth on his and the other with her mouth on his dick. But that didn't bother her as much as what she saw next. On the table in front of him were five lines of white powder. There had appeared to be a sixth, but only a small pile remained.

_Cocaine._ Leaning against the wall beside the door, out of view, she attempted to breathe, but her breath became caught in her throat when she fought hard to not cry. _It's not his...it can't be his. He told me he didn't...that he doesn't..._

Morris cleared his throat and let his presence know to the threesome. Troy didn't bother to pull his attention away from the girl he was currently sucking face with. It wasn't until Morris cleared his throat once more, did he finally turn it to the man at the door; the man he was still furious at after finding out that he was hitting his best friend.

"Can't you see I'm fucking busy?" he growled.

"I can see it perfectly."

"Then fuck off," he said and returned his attention to the girl beside him.

"Girls, can you excuse us?"

Knowing they couldn't say 'no', the two females left the room. Growling in frustration, Troy glared at the man in the doorway before fixing himself. Turning his eyes to the table, he failed to notice the brunette that had moved herself into the doorway and picked up the long straw.

"Is there a reason you're here?" he asked before leaning forward and proceeding to snort the next line. A sharp gasp caught his attention and he looked up, everything crashing around him when he met the hurt brown eyes of Gabriella Montez. "G-Gabriella."

Her whispered name escaping from his lips brought her back to reality and she found the voice of her feet telling her to run. So she did. She kept running, even as he called her name once more, and didn't stop until she was safely on the other side of those walls; back into the polluted air belonging to Los Angeles. She was able to breathe again, something she could not do just seconds before.

"Gabriella."

His fingers curled over her wrist, trying to get her attention, but he was only met by one swift slap to the face. When he recovered from the shock, he looked into her brown eyes; everything from hurt and betrayal to sorrow and heartache shining within them.

"You, asshole. You fucking _asshole_!" she screamed.

"Gabriella, please, can we talk about this?"

"Talk? Oh, no we're done talking. You made that perfectly clear when you decided to be a damn hypocrite and get on me for lying when you were doing just as much and twice as worse."

"What?"

"I know about the ring," she cried. "I _know_ about my grandmother's ring and how you stole it...and then lied to me about it. How could you? How could you not tell me about that?"

"I'm sorry, alright? But I needed it."

"Needed it? Troy, you _used_ it...to pay off a drug debt."

"I did need it. If I didn't pay Morris, then..."

"Then what, Troy? Would he have refused to feed your addiction; the same addiction you assured me you didn't have? You lied to me about that, too." She looked down. "You looked me right in the eye...and lied to me."

"Why does it matter, huh? So I lied to you about using drugs. So I used your grandmother's ring to pay off a debt. Why, the fuck, does it matter to you? It's my Goddamn life, not yours. If I choose to get high almost every day of the week, why should it bother you so much?"

She looked down; her heart hurting as images from a time long ago flashed before her. Birthdays, Christmases, Thanksgivings, family events...they were all tainted by it.

"Answer me, Gabriella. What's your reason for it bothering you so damn much?"

"Because I care about you!" she shouted, catching Troy off guard. "I care about you...and I don't want to lose another person I care about to drugs. My heart wouldn't be able to take it."

"Another?" he whispered, wondering what she meant.

"I...I can't do this," she said to no one before staring back towards the way she came.

"Gabriella, wait!" he called.

She stopped and turned. "You know what, Troy? You're right. You're completely right. It's your choice about what you wanna do with your life. And...if you wanna _die_ _here_ with people who couldn't give two shits about you...then so be it. It's _your_ choice."

With that, she turned and left.


	30. Chapter 29

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: Sorry for taking so long. I wasn't happy with the chapter I had written up, so I rewrote it and it took me longer than I thought it would. Also, I started school again last Friday, so that doesn't help either. There's no guarantee that I will have the next chapter up within the next week or so since I have school work to deal with. When I started this story, I wasn't in school, but now that I am, my time is going to be taken up considerably, but I'll try to get a few hours of writing in between. Also, thanks so much for the reviews; all 30 of you :) new record for this story. I'm sure many of you have heard about a book called 'The Lonely Bones' (It was made into a movie earlier this year, I think). If you haven't read it, please do. It's such a great story. It's a bit on the lengthy side, but you get so caught up in it that you don't even really realize it.**

**Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 29

Troy's body was numb and it wasn't from any high. His heart was in pieces. After Gabriella walked away from him, he stood staring at her retreating figure until he couldn't see her anymore. His head told him to go after her, but his feet refused to move. He had been in the wrong, he knew that. He had no right to get upset when he found out she lied to him, but did it anyway. There was no denying, by the look on her face, that she hated him now.

_What, the fuck, have I done?_

/0\

_The house was unusually quiet. On a normal Saturday night, there would be loud metal music blasting through the speakers of one of the upstairs bedrooms. But tonight there was silence. And that's what scared her. Her parents were out for the evening and the help had gone home for the night. The only people home were her and her brother. At least she thought he was home._

_She had seen him earlier that morning, eating breakfast and nodding his head to the music in his headphones. As much as she hated to admit, but she hated this new side of him; the one that had been making himself more and more isolated for the past five years. She still loved her brother—don't get her wrong—but she hated this person he had become. He was always gone or always in his room with his stereo turned up high. He skipped classes, his grades were dropping and late at night, she could hear the sounds of girls' moans coming from his room. She knew what he was doing; she wasn't stupid, but that didn't mean she liked it. Especially since a lot of those girls were friends of hers._

_But as much as he wasn't there, you always knew when he was._

_And tonight, there was complete and absolute silence._

_Climbing the staircase, she went to go check on her brother. She needed to know if she was home alone or if he had just fallen asleep with his headphones on. She hoped that it was the latter. She hated being in the house alone._

"_Alex!" she called as she knocked, but there was no answer. "Alex, I hope you're decent cause I'm coming in!"_

_Her fingers turned the knob and her hand pushed the door open. She had to fight the urge to roll her eyes when she saw him lying on his side, eyes staring at nothing. He had fallen asleep with his eyes open. She remembered the first time he did that; it scared the crap out of her. He told her it was helpful for when you wanted to sleep in class, but didn't want to get caught. She tried to get him to teach her, but he refused to; ruffling her hair and saying: 'you're a good girl, Gabriella, you don't need to learn something like that'._

"_Alejandro, wake up!" she yelled, hoping to catch him off guard like she usually did, but he didn't stir._

_Walking towards his bed, she spotted lines of white on his nightstand and she shook her head. He had been using again. It was another thing she hated about her new brother; he started getting into drugs. He made her promise she wouldn't tell when she first found out and she did. She promised she wouldn't tell as long as he promised not to let it get too bad. Smiling, he promised._

"_Alex, come on, get up." She shook him, but he didn't move. Fear began to creep through her and she tried to push it back; saying that she was just overreacting. "Alex, this isn't funny." Shoving him more roughly, she attempted to make her brother give up his joking ways, but he still would not move. Tears leaked from her eyes. "Alex...Alex, please." She leant her head against his arm as she began to openly sob. "ALEX!"_

Gabriella jolted into an upright position; gasping for air. Tears slid down her cheeks as she recalled the vivid memory. Old wounds had been reopened and old memories replayed...all because of Troy; all because she let herself come to care for the male when she knew it was a bad idea to begin with. Bringing one leg up, she rested her head against it and began to cry.

/0\

Daisy's heart had ached for him; ached for the guy she would have called her brother if not for the fact that she'd slept with him on many occasions. She did love him, but not in the way the girl he called 'Gabriella' apparently loved him. Despite the fact that he had hurt her and betrayed her, the love she felt for him was written in her eyes. Daisy wasn't quite sure how he had felt towards the brunette, but she didn't fail to miss the agonizing look on his face when she walked away. The expression alone made her own heart break.

That had been four nights ago.

On this fifth night, she stood in the doorway of one of the red rooms and watched him; disappointed. He sat alone; head in the clouds, eyes on the white powder in front of him. He had placed out five lines, but only one of those lines were gone. She knew that even though he wanted to, he didn't have it in him to finish off the rest. She could see the conversation behind his oceanic irises. He was contemplating on what to do next; wondering if he should finish what he had in front of him. It was this that she was disappointed with; not the fact that he had turned back to drugs, but that he was sitting here trying to make up his mind about what to do with the last four lines instead of trying to make things right with Gabriella.

"I'm disappointed in you, Troy." He lifted his eyes, connecting with her soft blue ones. "This could be different. You could be making up with your girlfriend right now."

"She's not my girlfriend." He sighed, turning his gaze back to the table. "She couldn't be...even if I wanted her to."

"Troy," She took a seat beside him, "maybe if you tell her how you feel..."

"How I feel? Daisy, she doesn't care about how I feel."

"Of course she does."

"_No_, she doesn't. If she did, then," He ran a hand through his hair, "then she wouldn't be marrying a guy she doesn't love."

Daisy looked upon him with sad eyes. "You love her, don't you?"

"What? No! No, I..."

She smiled. "Don't lie to me, Troy; I can see it all over your face."

He sighed. "What does it matter if I do?"

"Tell her."

"I can't do that, Dase."

"Why not?"

"Because it won't change anything! Telling her...won't change anything between us. At the end of it all, she's still going to marry that guy and I'll end up alone...like I always am."

She took his hand in hers. "I'm pretty sure that if you tell her, she'll rethink it all."

"No, she won't. There are things at stake if she doesn't go through with this marriage; things that mean more to her than me."

"Troy..."

"Please, Daisy, I just...I wanna be left alone."

Nodding, she kissed his cheek and stood. When she reached the doorframe, she glanced back at the broken man and was unpleasantly surprised to find him snorting up two more lines. Sighing, she went to seek out Liev. There was a favor he owed her and, right now, she needed it.

/0\

"Get your fucking hands off me!" Troy yelled as Liev threw him onto the pavement. "What, the fuck, Liev?"

"Sorry, but you've overstayed your welcome."

"You've never had a problem with me staying this long before."

"Yeah, well, it wasn't my call to kick you out."

"Then whose call was it?"

"Mine." Daisy stepped out behind Liev and stared, guiltily, at him.

"Daisy? Why?"

"Because, Troy, you need to go talk to Gabriella; whether you want to or not."

"I told you before, Dase..."

"Even if you don't tell her how you feel, you still need to talk to her; you need to set things right. Staying here won't fix anything."

Troy looked away from her; knowing she was right. This snag that he had hit with Gabriella wasn't going to fix itself. But, for some reason, he wasn't sure he wanted to fix it. Wasn't it better that she hated him? Wouldn't it be easier that way when the time came that she had to give herself to someone else?

/0\

Gabriella sat in her living room, staring blankly at the television. It was on, but she wasn't watching it. Her heart was torn on what she should do about Troy. With him being gone for the past five days, she had time to think, but it wasn't very productive thinking. She was still where she had been five days ago: stuck between wanting to forgive him and wanting to stay mad at him. At the sound of her doorbell, she sighed and got up. Sharpay had been coming to see if she was still alive and well for the past few days and it was starting to annoy her.

"Shar, I told you I'm," She stopped when she found Troy, instead of Sharpay, on the other side of the door, "fine. What are you doing here, Troy?"

"Can we talk?"

"Talk about what? About how you lied to my face twice and then had the nerve to get angry when I lied to you _once_? Or maybe we can talk about how much of a fucking hypocrite you are."

"Gabriella, I'm sorry. I...I messed up."

"Why would you do that, Troy? Why would you get mad at me for lying to you when you were lying to me?"

"I let my anger get the best of me; I always let my anger get the best of me. I never meant to hurt you."

"But you did."

"I'm sorry. Do you ever think you could forgive me?"

She sighed. "If you explain it to me."

"Explain what?"

"Why you do it; why do you choose to cut your life short by using?"

He looked down. "Gabriella...I can't answer that."

"Then I can't forgive you."

Before he could say anything else, she closed the door and went back into the living room. Curling into herself, she went back to staring at the television. Her heart wanted her to forgive him, but her head didn't. Her head wanted answers; her head wanted to know _why_ in order to find a way to help him. She didn't want him to end up like her brother. If that was the way he wanted to go, then so be it, but she was sure that she wouldn't be able to take another heart break like that.

/0\

His head and his heart were torn. One told him to just forget about Gabriella and indulge in the things that made him forget, while the other told him that he needed to make things right.

_Make things right_, he thought, _how am I supposed to make things right when she hates me? How am I supposed to make things right when the one thing she wants to know is the one thing I want to forget?_

Sitting with his back against the warehouse building behind him, Troy had his legs raised and his arms resting on his knees. Cocaine hadn't always been his first drug of choice, but after getting kicked out of UCLA for possession of marijuana, the white powder had become his best friend. It made him forget how much of a fuck up he was. He knew the risks, knew the consequences, but none of it mattered. If he was able to forget for a little while, that was fine with him.

But, now, as he sat there, he wondered if maybe it had been the wrong road to take. Ever since his sister, he'd always been on his own; always fended for himself. He never had anyone care as much as Emma...until Gabriella. Even his friendship with Chad wasn't strong enough to stop the dark-skinned male from abandoning him when he begun to spiral downwards.

_Isn't that what Gabriella is doing? Isn't she abandoning you, too?_

Troy shook his head. _No, she's just protecting her heart. She wants to help me._

_But is she helping you now? No, she's not. She told you she couldn't forgive you because you wouldn't tell her the truth about why you use. She doesn't care about you._

He didn't want the voice to win, the same one that called to him every time he was in need of a fix, but he couldn't help himself in believing that it was right. That is until his memory of the argument they'd gotten into came back to him and he could hear her voice yelling at him:

_Because I care about you_.

She did care. She did care about him. But was that one revelation enough? Would it help him choose whether or not he was willing to give up the one thing that had given him comfort for the past year and a half or give up the one person that had made him happier than he had ever been since his parents died?

The answer should have been obvious, but it wasn't; not to him at least. Giving up the cocaine meant going into withdrawals and he didn't think he could deal with them. But giving up Gabriella meant that he would go back to miserable existence that he had been subjecting himself to since he was separated from his sister.

It was not an easy decision for him, but he needed to make it.

From two feet beside him, the warehouse door opened and a body came tumbling out of it. His head snapped in its direction and watched as Morris walked out; hovering over the person—a woman it appeared to be, but Troy couldn't see who it was due to the low lighting. He saw Morris lean over her and grab her hair before whispering something to her. The woman whimpered. Whatever it was he was saying to her, it wasn't good. Pulling her to her feet, Morris pushed her against the nearest wall—where a light shined down from—and it was then that Troy could see the woman's face.

_Daisy._

He was stuck; frozen. But the second he saw Morris' fist connect with her cheek, he was on his feet and pushing the man away from her. If he would have looked into Daisy's cerulean eyes, he would have seen the look of fear and warning she was giving him.

"This is none of your concern, Bolton, so I suggest you go on about your way," Morris warned.

"I _won't_ let you hurt her."

Morris chuckled. "You don't have much of a choice do you."

A loud click resounded in Troy's left ear and he glanced sideways. Liev was standing there with a semiautomatic pistol pointed straight at his temple. His green eyes were having a conversation with him, telling him that he didn't want to, but he'd do it.

"Back away from the girl," Liev said, "and I won't put a bullet in your head."

"Liev, please," she cried.

"It's alright, Dase," Troy said before reluctantly moving away from Daisy.

Morris walked up to the blue-eyed male and punched him in the face. Spitting out the blood that had pooled in his mouth, Troy returned his gaze to the man in front of him; his disdain for him growing with each second.

"Either leave here with your life, or don't leave here at all."

"I'm _not_ leaving without Daisy."

"Fine. Maybe I'll tell Liev, here, that once we're done getting rid of your body, to look up that beautiful brunette that was here earlier. I'd love to get a taste of that one."

"I swear, if you _touch_ Gabriella, I'll..."

Before he could get a chance to finish his sentence, he was struck by something hard and he fell to his knees. Everything was blurry when he opened his eyes.

"Gabriella, huh? Beautiful name for a beautiful girl. Too bad you won't be there to watch me violate her in every single way possible." Morris sighed and pulled out his own semi-automatic—smaller than Liev's—and pointed it at the space between Troy's eyes.

"Morris, don't," Daisy said and grabbed his arm that held the gun. "Please, don't."

Grabbing her wrist, he nearly broke it trying to pull her off of him. "You're next, whore."

He pushed her away and sent her into the wall, knocking her unconscious. Troy tried to go to her, but pressure at the back of his head stopped him.

"Don't even try it," Liev said.

"Any last words before I blow your brains out?"

Troy stared at the man hovering over him, an idea forming in his head. "What for? I know you're not gonna do it."

"Really?" he asked as he cocked the gun.

"Yep. And you know why? Because if you kill me, then that brunette you wanna violate so much will wonder what happened to me and she'll immediately suspect that you did something."

Morris laughed. "Right. After what she saw, I doubt she'd want to have anything to do with your ass. Why would she give you a second thought?"

"Because, unlike you, she has a fucking heart. She may be mad at me now, but sooner or later, she'll come looking for me and when she hasn't found me, she will think of you first. I can guarantee that by the end of next week, you will have cops on your ass."

Morris' grin slipped off his face as he began to think more about it. It was hard to know if Troy was telling the truth or not. He could let him go and never have to worry, or he could end his life and take the risk that he was telling the truth. Indecision clouded his head. He needed to choose.

Sighing, he dropped the gun. "Fine, you can keep your pathetic life."

"And Daisy?"

His gray eyes looked over towards the unconscious woman before he nodded. "You can take her, too. But I swear, if I ever see you or her in my neck of the woods again, I will not hesitate to kill you."

"Note made and stored."

"Now, take her and go before I change my mind."

Without further encouragement, Troy went over to Daisy and picked her off the floor. He knew it would be weird for him to be walking down the streets of Los Angeles with an unconscious woman in his arms, but he didn't care. He needed to get Daisy somewhere safe. The question was: where?

/0\

Tears streamed down her face as she sat in the windowsill of her giant living room windows, staring at the sight before her. Her apartment had a clear view of the suburbs surrounding L.A. and the coastline. The view was one reason why she loved this apartment so much. It was very serene and very comforting. But, as much as she wanted to enjoy it, she couldn't. Her heart was in pieces and it hurt. The lies Troy had told was still fresh in her mind and it didn't help anything.

Loud knocking caused her to wipe the tears from her eyes and get up to answer her front door. She was surprised by who was standing on the other side.

"Troy? What...?" Her question was silence by the sight of the scantily clad female unconscious in his arms.

"I know I'm probably the last person you wanna see, but I didn't know where else to go."

Seeing the cuts and bruises on the pretty blonde's face, she knew that something had happened. Nodding, she opened the door wider and motioned him inside.

"Thanks," he said as she stepped into the apartment.

Troy immediately made a beeline for the couch. Setting Daisy down gently, he attempted to assess the damages done to her pretty face. She had a swollen left eye that would become black and blue by the morning, a swollen right cheek and a split lip. He sighed as he moved her hair out of her face. He should have done something earlier. He couldn't believe he let it get this far.

"What happened to her?"

His head snapped up; having forgot that he wasn't alone. "She did something wrong. And when you do something your John doesn't agree with, you get punished for it."

Gabriella stayed quiet after that; only making herself known when she passed him a dish towel full of ice. She was unfamiliar with the workings behind prostitution, but knew she didn't want to find out. She silently watched him attend to the unconscious woman and wondered what she meant to him. Her eyes scanned his face for any signs that his feelings for her might be more than just platonic, but, instead, caught sight of a trickle or red sliding down the side of his face.

"Shit."

He watched as she disappeared upstairs, coming back seconds later with a First Aid kit. She sat down beside him and took out a bottle of iodine and gauze.

"What's that for?" he asked, completely oblivious to his wound.

"You're bleeding; that's what this is for."

"Wha—?" She pressed the iodine soaked gauze to his cut and he hissed in pain. "Ah, _fuck_, that hurt."

"Sorry," she mumbled.

Silence took over as she continued to clean his cut. Moments later, she took out another piece of gauze and dried the area before covering it.

"Thanks," he said as she closed up the iodine and put it back in the kit.

"You're welcome." She stood without making eye-contact and went back upstairs, leaving the First Aid kit with him in case he needed it.

He stared at where she'd disappeared, hoping that she would come back down, but she never did. Sighing, he stood and grabbed Daisy; effortlessly carrying her into his room to set her down on the bed and allowing her to be more comfortable.

/0\

With his head in his hands, Troy sat at the edge of the bed, hoping that Daisy would wake. It had been nearly three hours since he arrived at Gabriella's apartment with the unconscious blonde and, not once, had she shown any sign of waking. It worried and scared him. He didn't know what he would do if she ended up slipping into a coma. Daisy was one of the most important people in his life and he didn't know what he'd do without her.

"Troy."

His head shot up and he looked behind her, his gaze greeted by her cerulean eyes. He sighed in relief and moved further up the bed, taking her hand in his.

"Hey. How you feeling?"

"Horrible. My head's killing me."

"Here," he said, handing her Tylenol and a glass of water, "take this."

"Thanks." She popped the pill into her mouth before downing half of the glass. "Where are we?" she asked as she handed back the glass.

"Safe; that's all that matters."

"How did you...?"

"Told Morris that if he killed me, even though she was mad at me now, Gabriella would eventually come looking for me and if she didn't find me, then she would suspect he had done something to me. He got scared at the idea that cops would be swarming his place, so he let me go. Of course I wouldn't leave without you, so he let me take you. But we can never go back or he will kill us."

She nodded. "Good riddance."

"What exactly happened tonight? I mean, why was Morris hitting you in the first place?"

"Because I..." She sighed, "I told him I wanted to leave."

"Leave? And go where?"

"Home. Back to Tennessee."

"But...why?"

"Because I haven't seen my family since I was sixteen. I...I miss them."

"But you told me you didn't have any family."

She smiled. "Now, are you gonna sit here and tell me you bought that crap, Sugar?"

"No, I guess not," he said with a soft chuckle. "But, then, why did you lie?"

She shrugged. "Because I guess...I guess I just wanted to forget I had a family."

"Why?"

Her bright eyes went dull as she pulled her legs to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. Troy watched, wondering where the blonde was at that moment. Her gaze was distant and guarded; much like his usually was.

"When I was fifteen, my Uncle Bobby...he...well, he...he raped me. He told me to keep it a secret lest I wanted to be made to look like a whore for seducing my Mother's brother. I did. I kept it for a year until I couldn't anymore. A month after I turned sixteen, I told my parents. My Mother didn't believe me and my Father was too much of a coward to say anything that didn't agree with her. So they yelled at me; actually she did most of the yelling. She called me a whore and a slut and then threw me out."

"I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "It's not your fault, Sugar. It's their's for not believing me."

"What made you want to go back?"

"Liev, he's a friend of the family. He followed me, to make sure I was okay. Even though he didn't like the idea of me getting into prostitution, he said he would stick by me and make sure nothing happened."

"And, yet, he let that son of a bitch, Morris, put his hands on you."

"It's not his fault. He couldn't have done anything; I told him not to do anything." She looked at him. "Besides you, Liev is the only guy I trust. I couldn't risk him getting hurt, or worse. But, anyway, he got a call from his sister and she told him that my Uncle Bobby went to jail for raping his own daughter. It was then that my parents realized that I had been telling the truth. My Mother wants me home."

"You're gonna forgive them that easily?"

"No, but they're all I have. Like them or not, they're my flesh and blood. Friends and lovers come and go, but family is forever."

Groaning, he buried his face in his hands, earning him a confused look from Daisy, but he ignored it. What Daisy had said made sense to him, but it was _exactly_ what Gabriella had tried to explain to him when he asked why she wanted to please her father so much; it was the reason why she was willing to marry a man she didn't love. Friends and lovers come and go, but family is forever and her father is the only thing she had left.

"I'm such a fucking _asshole_."


	31. Chapter 30

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: Thanks for understanding my time restraint with uploading new chapters. School isn't the only thing keeping me from infrequent uploads; my brain is going into it's usual shut down. When my stories are close to completion, my brain begins to close up and make it harder for me to really finish it. I'm gonna fight it, though. I know how I want this story to end, now I just have to wrestle with myself to put everything in between.**

**Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 30

Irritable; that's what she was that following morning. Sleep hadn't come easy after Troy appeared at her door with the unconscious blonde in his arms. Jealousy had filled her veins at that moment, but she pushed it back when she realized the severity of the situation. The girl was badly beaten, and she wondered why Troy hadn't thought to take her to a hospital. Nevertheless, Gabriella was too kind-hearted to turn him away when he needed help. She just wished she would have been able to sleep.

Since that night in the alley, she had been unable to close her eyes and slip into a comfortable slumber. Nightmares—memories—plagued her subconscious and kept her from getting a good rest. She hated not being able to sleep. Venturing downstairs, she was surprised to find the girl—Daisy is what she remembered her name being—standing in her kitchen, fixing coffee. Clearing her throat, Gabriella made her presence known.

Daisy turned, surprised that she was no longer the only one awake. "Oh, hi."

"Hi. How are you feeling?"

"A bit sore, but I'll live." Gabriella nodded. "I hope you don't mind that I made use of your coffee machine?"

"Oh, no, not at all."

"Would you like some?"

"That would be nice, thank you."

Smiling, Daisy took a mug out of the cabinet and poured the hot liquid inside before handing it to Gabriella. Giving her a grateful smile, she took a sip and let silence fill the area around them. Her brown eyes scanned over the bruised face of the blonde in front of her and she wondered what she'd done to receive a beating that bad.

"Thank you for letting us stay here."

Gabriella shook her head and smiled sadly. "You were hurt. I couldn't just turn him away when you needed help."

"But you didn't have to. I know how angry with him you are, so you didn't have to help him."

"I didn't do it for him; I did it for you. It didn't matter if all I wanted to do was slam the door in his face, you were more important than how I felt at that moment."

"He didn't mean to lie to you, you know. That's just how he is; how he's always been."

"That doesn't make it hurt any less."

Daisy nodded in understanding. "I know, but Troy isn't much of an open book. He's very secretive. I've known him for two years, but he's never told me anything about himself. Never told me where he grew up, about his family or anything like that." She looked at the brunette across from him. "But I can tell you that he hasn't had it easy."

Before the conversation could continue, the sound of the bedroom door opening caught their attention. Troy walked out seconds later; clad in nothing but his boxers and an undershirt. Gabriella's gaze flipped back to Daisy and took in her appearance for the first time. The blonde was wearing Troy's shirt and probably nothing else. As if seeing the rash conclusion playing across her face, Daisy tried to tell her that it wasn't what she thought it was, but Gabriella was gone before she had a chance to; pushing past a confused Troy on her way back to her room.

"What just happened?" Troy asked.

/0\

She couldn't have been that naïve; couldn't have been that clueless. Daisy was a prostitute and it was obvious by the way Gabriella had found him in that warehouse that Troy indulged in that kind of activity. So, it shouldn't have came as such a surprise to her when she saw them barely dressed. He fucked her. Plain and simple as that. But it didn't mean she wasn't jealous; especially since he'd known Daisy for two years, meaning they've been screwing for those two years.

A knock came at her room, but Gabriella really didn't want to speak to anyone. All she wanted to do was be alone.

"Gabriella?"

"Go away, Troy."

He sighed. "Gabriella, can we please talk?"

"I'm not interested."

"Well, I'm not moving until you are."

Rolling her eyes, Gabriella stood from her seat on her bed and stalked over to the door, throwing it open. She said nothing to him as she went back to where she'd come from. He watched her for a few seconds before walking in and closing the door behind him.

"Gabriella, I...I'm sorry."

"Troy..."

"Let me finish, please." She sighed in resolve and allowed him to continue. "I... What I did was stupid and wrong and I know that, but I just need you to know that I never meant to lie to you; never meant to hurt you." He looked down at the floor. "I know it's the last thing you want to hear, but it's the only thing I can give; I'm sorry."

Gabriella stared at the man beside her. He was, no doubt, sincere in his apology...but the apology wasn't what she wanted. She wanted more than that; she wanted an explanation. Gabriella wanted to know...

"Why?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

His head snapped up towards her. Why what? Why did he use? Why did he lie to her? What was the question attached to that word? He didn't want to answer without knowing what it was she was trying to ask.

"Why?"

"Why did you lie to me?"

A small sigh of relief escaped his lips. "I was afraid of how you'd see me. I was afraid that if I told you the truth, you'd judge me."

"What reason would I have to judge you?"

"I stole from you; what reason wouldn't you have to judge me?"

She tilted her head slightly. "Troy, that ring wasn't the only thing you stole from me, remember? Yet, I still allowed you to stay here. Besides, I wasn't talking about that."

"But the ring..."

"Is important to me, yes, but it's not my main concern at the moment. I want to know why you lied to me when I asked if you were a drug user."

"I don't know. I guess...I guess I didn't want to put more on your plate."

"Put more on my plate? What do you mean?"

"Gabriella...you were so caught up in your own life that I didn't want to trouble you with mine."

"But I...I could have helped."

"Helped?" Confusion spread through him. "Helped with what?"

"With whatever it was; whatever it _is_. There's a reason why you're using, Troy, and I can help you through it. You don't need drugs. Just..." She took his hand in hers, "tell me what it is."

He snatched his hand away and stood. "Why do you think that there's a reason, huh? Not everything has to have a _reason_."

"Because I can see it in your eyes." He stiffened. "Something happened, something you want to forget, and that's the reason why you're using."

"And how would you know that there's something I want to forget?"

She looked down. "Because Alejandro was the same way."

"What?"

Biting her lip, Gabriella took a deep breath before telling the story of how she lost her brother. She'd never recollected the memories of her brother's drug use; preferring to banish them to the far reaches of her mind. But this was important. If she didn't tell Troy, then he would never understand why she wanted to help him through whatever it was that caused him to go down this path.

"Alejandro was fourteen when he first started using. I don't know when...and I don't know how he got a hold of it, but I do know that was when he began. He changed at thirteen, but it wasn't as drastic as it was when he was fourteen. His moods switched at the drop of a hat and he pushed everyone he knew away. I wouldn't find out about the cocaine until he was fifteen, however.

I was only ten when I found him snorting cocaine in the living room after our parents had gone out. At first, I thought it was sugar or something, but the way that he reacted to me finding out...much like the way you reacted...I knew it wasn't sugar. He made me promise that I wouldn't tell; made me promise that no matter what, I wouldn't reveal to our parents what he was into. I promised. Promised because I loved him; promised because I didn't want him to hate me."

Her eyes became distant as she reached further into her memories, bringing forth the one that had been plaguing her sleep for the past few nights. Taking another deep breath, she closed her eyes, briefly, before reopening them and staring at a spot on the floor.

"I-I remember the day like it was yesterday...the day I lost him. It was unusually quiet in our house, especially when he had the tendency to blast his music so the world could hear. But that day, there was no music and I hadn't seen him all day. I went to check up on him; thinking that maybe he'd fallen asleep with his headphones on. We were the only ones in the house and I hoped that he was home because I hated being in that huge house alone. When I went to check on him, I...I thought he was asleep..." She took a ragged breath as tears flowed freely down her cheeks, "but he wasn't."

Troy stayed silent. He didn't need for her to finish to know what the ending to that story was. He died. Alejandro Montez died that day. Retaking his seat beside her, he gathered her into his arms and allowed her to cry against him. It was hard losing those you loved; he knew that first hand.

"Did he overdose?"

She shook her head. "No. He...he had a heart attack."

He tightened his grip on the woman in his arms. He knew of the consequences of using cocaine; knew that many people didn't die from overdosing on it. Many of them died the same way Alejandro had. Some died the first time they used it, others died the hundredth time they used it. It was like playing a game of Russian Roulette; you never knew if that next hit was going to be your last. It was a huge risk, but a risk he had been willing to take if it meant forgetting for just that one second.

"He wanted to forget," she spoke through her tears. "Our Father put so much pressure on him to become the best and all he wanted to do was become an artist. Daddy didn't like that. Daddy wanted him to take over the business, but Alejandro refused to. He wanted to forget who he was; wanted to be someone else."

"I know what that's like...to want to become someone else." She looked up at him. "I wanted to forget how much of a fuck up I am. With every chance I get, I run my life further and further into the ground without even trying."

"That's not true."

"It is true." He looked at her. "Do you know I lost my job in the past few days because I'd rather be locked in some room with cocaine sitting in front of me?" He sighed. "I just can't do anything right."

"Troy." She brushed her fingers along his cheek.

"Two years ago, I was enrolled in UCLA on a full basketball scholarship...and I fucked it up."

"How?"

"When a university offers to pay for you to attend their institution in hopes that you would help one of their sports teams, the first thing they tell you is that you must keep your grades fairly high and that you must keep your records clean. I tried and failed on the latter. I got caught smoking marijuana in my dorm room by my RA—strict mother fucker, he was—and they immediately expelled me. I lost my scholarship and my one chance at making something of myself."

"I'm sorry."

He smirked bitterly and shook his head. "It's not your fault; it's mine. A few weeks later, I found myself sitting in Morris' office, snorting cocaine like a fucking pro and ruined my life even further by pushing Chad away. He was the first true friend I had here in L.A. We were like brothers and whenever I wasn't in class, I was hanging out with him; mostly smoking a blunt or two. After I got into cocaine, though, we began to drift apart. I tried to get him into it, tried to get him hooked, but he refused to and hated me for even trying. Months later, he was as clean as a whistle and I was a fucking train wreck."

"He seems to have forgiven you."

"To an extent he has, but I doubt we'll ever be as close as we used to." He sighed and wiped a tear from her face. "I'm sorry about your brother."

Smiling sadly, she shook her head and leant her forehead against his chin. "I've lost so many in my life that I cared about...and I couldn't deal with it if I...if I lost you, too."

Placing a kiss on her forehead, he threaded one hand through her hair while the other lay gently on the small of her back. He wanted to tell her how he felt about her, how much she meant to him, but that would get him nowhere. She was to marry someone else. His feelings for her did not compare to that of a daughter trying to get her father to love her. He would not put her in a position to choose between himself and the man who helped give her life.

As much as he wanted to tell her that she wouldn't lose him, he knew that he would just be lying again. Even if death didn't claim him, he doubted he would be able to stick around and watch her become someone else's. His heart would break less if he were not around her when it happened. Feeling her head move, he looked down and watched as she tried to close the space between him. Reluctantly, he turned away and allowed her to kiss the side of his mouth.

"I should go check on Daisy."

He didn't give her time to respond. Gently, he lifted her off his lap and onto the bed; practically running out of her room and ignoring the hurt look on her face.

/0\

They would see each other again.

There was no doubt in her mind that they would.

Daisy stood in the doorway of Troy's bedroom and stared at him with sad eyes. She didn't want to leave without saying goodbye, but she didn't think she could do it without crying. This was easier. Sighing, she turned and walked out of the room, closing the door with a silent click.

"Going somewhere?"

Her heart accelerated when she found the petite brunette in the kitchen. It was three in the morning, what was she doing up at this hour?

"What are you doing up so early?"

"Couldn't sleep. Are you gonna answer my question?"

"Um..."

"You're leaving him, aren't you?"

Sighing, she nodded. "I am."

"Why can't you just wait until morning and tell him 'goodbye'?"

"Because...I'm not as strong as I look. I'd cry like a little baby if I had to say goodbye to him. He's like the little brother I never had."

"Brother? I thought you two..."

"Hooked up? Once in a while, yes, but I see him as family. Since I met him, he's always been there for me. I hate to leave him without so much as a 'goodbye,' but I'm not so good when it comes to all that."

"I understand."

Smiling, Daisy reached into her pocket and pulled out a note. "You wouldn't mind giving this to him, would you?"

"No, of course not."

"Thank you. Oh, and before I forget." She reached into her pocket again, this time pulling out a diamond ring. "This belongs to you."

"My grandmother's ring." Gabriella took it from her. "I'd never thought I'd see it again."

"I couldn't let Morris keep something that wasn't his. Besides, it seemed to mean a lot to you."

"Thank you, Daisy."

"Not a problem." Daisy watched the female in front of her and knew that if she didn't say something, she might make a mistake that would haunt her for the rest of her life. "Gabriella, I know it's not my business, but... Do you love Troy?"

The question caught Gabriella off guard. "I...I don't...I really don't have an answer to that."

"Of course you do."

Gabriella looked down. "I guess I do. I mean, it's really too early to tell, but..."

"Then why are you allowing yourself to marry someone who you don't love?"

"Because if I don't, then I lose the love of my Father."

"Do you? According to Troy, you'd never had it in the first place and if you never had something, what's there to fight for?"

There was a question that Daisy knew would make the girl think. But she could only hope that it would set her in the right direction. She wanted Troy to be happy and she knew that the woman in front of her did that for him despite not being able to see it firsthand. Troy was in love with her so there was something there, something in her, that caused him to feel something he'd never felt before.

"I should go; my bus leaves soon. Please make sure that Troy gets that note."

"Uh...I will."

"Thank you, Gabriella. Goodbye."

"Bye."

/0\

Troy awoke alone that morning. The body that had been occupying the space beside him was nowhere to be found and there was no evidence that anyone had been in the bathroom for a couple of hours. Rising from his bed, he stumbled out of the room and looked around. He saw neither hide nor hair of the blonde that he'd rescued from Morris the other night. It made him worry. Walking into the kitchen, he saw a piece of paper sitting on the counter with his name written on it. Picking it up, he opened it and his eyes swept over its contents.

_Sugar,_

_By the time you read this, I will be well on my way back to Tennessee. I don't want you to be mad at me for leaving without saying 'goodbye,' because it was easier for me this way. So, please, understand._

_I need you to do something for me, Troy. I need you to tell Gabriella how you feel...before it's too late. Her feelings for you are not too far from your own, but she will not act on them until you do. She's good for you, little brother. I believe that she's the only one that can help you fight whatever it is that's haunting you. _

_There is no doubt in my mind that we will meet again one day, but until that day comes, we must first work on changing our lives for the better. You've been alone for as long as I've known you, maybe even longer, but you have a chance to change that. Don't let your one chance of happiness slip from your hands. You deserve it._

_I love you, little brother._

_Daisy._

Another person gone; another person he cared about. He hated this. To say he had abandonment issues was an understatement. When someone left his life, he could feel a little piece of himself leave with them. The first time he felt that way was when Callie began to hate him for what happened with her mother. She was the first person, besides his sister, that he allowed himself to get close to. She forced herself into his life and then left it on bad terms. He hated the feeling the first time he felt it and he felt it every time someone in his group home left; either they'd gotten too old or they'd been adopted.

Those children and adolescents had become his friends and he watched many of them leave. The worst of all came when his sister was finally adopted. That one left the biggest scar.

Gripping the letter in his hand, Troy didn't think he could take that feeling again, yet, here it was. And it hurt...just like it always had.

"Troy." He turned around and found Gabriella staring at him with worried eyes. "Are you okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah, uh, Daisy left."

"Yeah, I know. I was sort of...up...when she left."

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"She didn't want to say goodbye to you, Troy; not face-to-face anyway."

Silence found its way between them. Gabriella wanted to say something that was comforting, but she wasn't sure what it was she should say. It was obvious to her that he cared a lot for Daisy and she could see how much her departure was hurting him.

"Troy..." The phone began to ring before she could say anymore.

"You should get that."

She stared at him for a second more before reluctantly retreating into the living room to answer the phone.

He was tired of people leaving his life; tired of his heart hurting every time they did. Staring at Gabriella's form seated on the couch, talking heatedly to whoever it was on the other line, he knew that it was only a matter of time before she did the same. He needed to cut this loose before he became even more attached than he was; he needed to leave her life before she left his.

/0\

How could one person be so confusing?

Sitting across from a silent Troy, Gabriella tried to figure him out. It had been nearly three weeks since Daisy left and he made sure to avoid her unless necessary. What had she done this time around? She didn't remember saying anything or doing anything that might have made him upset. So what was it that was causing him to avoid her? It was eating away at her, but she was afraid that if she asked, that he would snap at her.

Shaking her head, she removed the thoughts of him from her head and went back to eating the dinner she'd prepared for them. If he didn't want to speak to her, then fine; two could play that game. She kept her eyes on the plate in front of her, refusing to look up at him.

"There's something I need to tell you," he said, speaking to her for the first time in a week and a half.

"What is it?" she asked, curiosity bubbling inside of her.

"I'm leaving."

The fork dropped from her grasp and her head shot up. "What? Why?"

He sighed. "Because...I need to get my life back. I need to kick this addiction and...and I need to figure things out."

"Oh. I see."

"I've already called a rehabilitation center on the East Coast and they've agreed to allow me to stay."

Confusion set over her features. "The East Coast? Why would you want to go all the way over there when I could get you into Palm Springs with no questions asked?"

"Because, Gabriella, I need to get away from all of this. The first step towards recovery is distancing yourself from everything and everyone that could cause you to relapse. I need new surroundings to help get me through this."

She nodded in understanding. "Well, where is it? Maybe I could come visit you."

"That's just _it_, Gabriella." He lifted his eyes and looked at her for the first time in a month, eyes completely emotionless. "I don't want you to visit me."

"Why not?" she asked, her heart breaking slowly.

"Because, like I said, I need to get away from everyone that could cause me to fall back into it."

"And you think that I will..." She stopped speaking, choking back a sob. "I...I understand. I'm just gonna..."

Without saying anything more, Gabriella retreated up to her room. Her heart was in pieces on the floor, but did he care? No, he didn't. This was what he wanted. The further they were away from each other—both emotionally and physically—the easier it would be for him to remove her as an important person in his life.

_You'll thank me for this, Gabriella._

Standing from his seat, he grabbed both plates and placed them in the sink before escaping to his room to finish packing.

/0\

She'd been quiet the entire ride to the airport. Both Chad and Sharpay had glanced worriedly at her, but Troy didn't spare her one look. That broke her already shattered heart, but she'd successfully kept up her mask of indifference. She was well aware of what he was doing. It took her three restless nights to figure it out, but it came to her. He was pushing her away. He was emotionally detaching himself from her. It hurt, yes, but she refused to let him know it did.

"I can't believe you're leaving me," Chad said, the first to speak since they'd arrived.

Troy smirked. "Leaving you? Please. You can't get rid of me that easily."

The two exchanged a swift hug; too proud to show their emotions in public.

"I'll be back sooner than you know it."

After ruffling his hair, Chad moved away and a glaring blonde replaced him. Troy and Sharpay stared at each other, neither moving or speaking. To anyone else, it would have seemed strange, but to two of them, it wasn't.

"So, how long will the rehabilitation process work?"

He shrugged. "Depends on how I do."

"Oh. And will you be back once you're done?"

"Probably not immediately after. There are things that I need to figure out first."

She nodded. "I see. Well, don't stay away for too long, alright?"

"Is that your way of saying you'll miss me?"

She scoffed. "You wish, Bolton."

He chuckled. "I'll miss you, too, Evans."

He held out his hand for her to take. By passing the gesture, Sharpay threw her arms around his neck and embraced him, something they'd only done once before. After the shock wore off, he wrapped his arms around her torso and welcomed her show of affection. Minutes later, she pulled away and composed herself, nodding once at him before stepping towards her boyfriend.

An awkward silence passed between the four young adults as people walked around them. Chad and Sharpay looked between Troy and Gabriella and wondered if they were going to say goodbye to each other. Chad whispered something into Sharpay's ear and they ventured away from the other two. There was no avoiding it any longer. Sighing, Troy turned to Gabriella who was watching as travelers and frequent flyers alike made their way through security.

"Gabriella." She turned her head to him. She may have been good at keeping emotions from playing across her face, but she was still inexperienced from keeping them from dancing in her eyes.

"I wish you luck, Troy."

"Thanks," he said, a genuine smile on his face.

She let a small smile slip past her mask. "If you need anything, I'm here. You know that right?"

He nodded. "I do."

"And...and you know you'll always have a place to stay here, right?"

He nodded again. "I know."

Despite his better judgment, he grabbed her arm and pulled her against him. One hand found her hair and the other, the small of her back, while her arms wrapped around his torso. They wouldn't admit it to anyone but themselves that they would miss the other.

"You will come back, won't you?"

His heart clenched within his chest.

"I'll try," he whispered before placing a soft kiss on her forehead and walking away without ever looking back.

**A/N: still no confession on Troy's part, but don't worry, he will tell her.**


	32. Chapter 31

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: Thanks to a Jewish holiday, I had a four day weekend, so I was able to work on this for the past four days. And because I have another four day weekend this coming weekend, you can be sure to expect Chapter 32 by next week.**

**Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 31

Two days after Troy's departure, Gabriella saw August come to a close. On the 31st of the month, she found herself buried in Sharpay's arms as she relived the day of her mother's unexpected death. In years before, Gabriella would usually become more withdrawn in the days that came before it, but she had been too focused on Troy to really give it some thought. It wasn't until he was gone from her life that the familiar feelings crept back into her subconscious and attacked her at full force.

September came with more distractions of planning her marriage to Maximilian; something that Gabriella wasn't so sure that she wanted to go through with anymore. She was only mildly interested in what was going on around her as Georgia showed her different bridesmaids dresses. When she didn't have to be there mentally, she wasn't. She holed herself into her mind and stayed there until she was needed. If Maximilian or his mother noticed her weird behavior, neither of them said anything.

When October arrived, Gabriella was introduced to Chad's daughter for the first time. The little girl became a more welcome distraction from her heartache than the wedding planning. Destiny's sweet disposition and innocence caused Gabriella to want to spend as much time with the child as possible and, with her babysitter away for college, Destiny spent hours at a time at Gabriella's apartment after she had been let out from school in the afternoons. By the end of the month, Gabriella had been dubbed 'Auntie Gabi' by the young female Danforth.

November and December brought around Thanksgiving and Christmas, respectively, giving her another round of distractions in preparation for the holidays. She spent Thanksgiving with her father and Maximilian's family, but Christmas was dedicated to Sharpay, Chad and little Destiny. Gabriella hadn't wasted any time in spoiling the little girl, even if she held no real relation to her. Between Sharpay acting as a surrogate mother and Gabriella acting as a surrogate aunt, the girl received numerous gifts on Christmas morning.

Things changed when January came around. It was the first month where she felt the full effects of Troy's absence; the first month where she felt truly alone. Chad enrolled Destiny in a gymnastics class, so there the little girl spent less and less time at Gabriella's apartment, causing her to see just how lonely she was there by herself. She never realized it before until she had someone living there with her. Her life without him seemed worse than life before him.

Then...February came.

Birthdays were supposed to be special; the day when you would be saying goodbye to another part of your life. Turning 21 should have been a monumental moment for Gabriella, but it wasn't. She, like Troy, hated her birthday. The reason, however, was not known to anyone; not her dead brother or mother, or her father, or even her best friend. The only people who could have any inkling as to why she hated this day was a few doctors and nurses at Los Angeles General Hospital and a complete stranger.

It hadn't always been that way though. She used to love her birthday...and then she turned seventeen. She refused to speak of what happened that day; of what drove her to attempt suicide only three days later. But it was forever ingrained into her mind.

For five days during the month of February, Gabriella withdrew into herself, not letting anyone in. The day before and the day of her birthday, she kept herself locked within her room. She didn't want to see anyone and she didn't want anyone to see her. Sharpay tried and failed to get Gabriella to open up to her, but the brunette was determined not to let anyone in. But this year, it was different; this year, Sharpay refused to let Gabriella sulk in her apartment alone.

"_We_ are going out tonight and, when midnight comes around, we will toast to you finally being legal."

And that was how she found herself sitting at the bar of a downtown night club only an hour before her 21st birthday, drinking her ass off.

Never had she been a fan of vodka, but at that moment, it was all that she wanted. She asked the bartender for a bottle—partially grateful that because she so close to being legal that the bartender let her off the hook and didn't have to resort to flashing, though she wasn't sure if it would work this time around since the person behind the bar was a woman. Every time she finished her shot, she'd pour another and another. She wanted to drink it all away; forget the pain she felt deep in her heart.

Though being on the boarder of tipsy and wasted, Gabriella was fully aware of the lecherous eyes that gazed her way. The men around her were not so discreet with the way they stared at her. But she couldn't blame them. She had decided to wear the gold, strapless mini-dress that left nothing to the imagination. This was her consequence; getting scoped out by every male—and female—that didn't like dick. They could look all they want, but they couldn't touch. Her body and her heart belonged to someone else...whether she liked it or not.

Sighing, she took another shot of vodka before refilling the glass once more. Just thinking about Troy made her heart sink. She missed him; missed him more than she ever knew she could miss someone. And she hated it; hated him. She didn't want to miss him. She wanted to forget him the way he wanted her to. But she couldn't. She couldn't bring herself to _not_ miss him...just as she couldn't bring herself to truly hate him. He meant too much to her to even _think_ about hating him.

So, she spent her nights wearing one of the shirts he left behind and curled in between the sheets that still smelled like him.

It was pathetic, she knew that much, but she didn't care. His scent comforted her and she knew that was where she would most likely be, come tonight; snuggled deeply within the bed sheets with his familiar smell wrapped safely around her.

Downing another shot glass, she let her mind wander to her best friend. She didn't have to turn around to know the blonde was somewhere on the dance floor; enveloped in her boyfriend's loving arms. She was slightly jealous that Sharpay had someone, while Gabriella had no one. It was stupid of her to think that way, but she couldn't help it. Her lonely heart kept crying out for its other half. Of course, she couldn't be sure that Troy was her other half, but he managed to fill that empty void.

"Hello, beautiful."

Without even turning, Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Not interested."

"Aw, come on. All I ask for is one dance."

"And all I ask for is for you to go away."

She didn't need to look at him to know that he had a scowl on his face. "Fine, be that way, bitch. I bet you're just as frigid in bed as you are out of it."

This time she turned and grinned maliciously. "Well, then...I guess you'll never find out."

Mumbling one last 'bitch,' the man walked away, leaving Gabriella to her mission of drinking until she killed enough brain cells that it wiped the memory of her seventeenth birthday clear from her mind.

Minutes later, Sharpay walked over and took the seat beside her. Gabriella didn't turn to acknowledge the blonde. It was her fault she was here instead of in her bedroom.

"I thought we weren't going to start drinking until midnight?"

"I need to drink if I'm gonna make it to midnight."

Sighing, Sharpay touched her best friend's shoulder. "Gabriella...what happened that night? What happened at that party that made you hate your birthday so much? What happened that...that made you suicidal back then?"

Party? Gabriella chuckled inwardly, almost forgetting the lie she told her best friend. Supposedly, she had gone to a party with a few girls from their school and had gotten drunk. None of that was true. She hadn't gone to a party; she hadn't gotten drunk. No, none of that had happened. In fact, as 11:59, February 17th had morphed into midnight, February 18th, Gabriella was lying in a hospital bed wishing for death to come easy.

"Nothing happened, Shar."

"Then why do you hate it so much?"

She shook her head. "It doesn't matter."

"Of course it does, Gabi, you're my best friend."

"It just isn't important, alright."

She stood and walked—stumbled—towards the bathrooms; the urge to pee overwhelming at the moment. She could only blame herself for drinking down three quarters of a bottle of vodka in the last hour. After doing her business and washing her hands, she was determined to continue where she left off, but the guy from before showed up and pressed her against the wall. She tried hard to fight him off; unfortunately, she was too inebriated to do so.

"Stop," she cried out, but he wouldn't.

The next thing she knew, he had his hand up her dress and down her panties. She tried a little bit harder to push him away, but he was too strong and she was too drunk. She whimpered as she realized, for the first time in her life, she was about to be raped.

"Let's see how frigid you really are," he said as he pushed his fingers inside of her.

Tears leaked down her face as she tried again to fight him off, but her struggle was useless and it just made her exhausted. Closing her eyes, she waited for it all to happen; waited for another reason to despise her birthday to come. Suddenly, he and his intruding fingers were pulled away from her. Her eyes snapped open and the first thing she saw was the man's unconscious body slumped against the wall across from her.

"Gabriella?"

Her head slowly lifted, half expecting to see Chad standing over her, but it wasn't him. Instead, she was met by a pair of ocean blue eyes and her world went black.

/0\

Someone was touching her.

Someone was stroking her hair as if she were a porcelain doll.

It wasn't as if she minded, she just... No one had ever done that, not since her mother. So who could this person be? Her eyes opened slightly, still blurry and disoriented by the alcohol, and took in the familiar sight of her bedroom. She was home? But how? Who? What did it really matter? She was safe. Breathing in deeply, the musky scent she'd grown accustomed to filled her nostrils and lulled her back to sleep.

/0\

Awaking hours later, she was rudely greeted by the sunlight and groaned in pain. Her throbbing head was screaming at her to never drink that much again. Rolling over, she buried her face into the pillow beside her and she breathed in. She was confused when she was met by the familiar scent that was uniquely Troy that smelled as if he had just been there. Opening her eyes, she became even more confused when she saw that she was in her bedroom. Why was his scent in her room?

Looking around her room, she found her gold dress hanging up in her closet and she looked down at herself. She was wearing a spaghetti strap pajama top and shorts. When had she changed? She hadn't. Even piss drunk, Gabriella would have still wrapped herself in Troy's shirt before going to sleep. Someone else had done it for her. But who?

Suddenly, the smell of food being cooked caught her attention and she cautiously got out of bed; heading downstairs to see who it was that was in her kitchen. As she slowly made her way down the stairs, memories of the night before came crashing down upon her. She remembered the guy trying to rape her and the eyes of her savior; Troy's eyes. That thought made her rush to the kitchen to see if she hadn't dreamt seeing those eyes. When she reached the kitchen, her breath caught in her throat as her gaze fell on the contours of his bare back. She knew that back; seen it so many times in the four months he'd stayed with her.

As if feeling her eyes on him, he turned around and she was once more thrown into a world of blue; drowning in the oceans of his eyes. Everything went black again and she felt herself falling. He reached her before she could hit the floor and carried her further into the kitchen, setting her on a counter top.

"Gabriella, wake up," he said as he lightly slapped her cheek. Her eyes opened after a few minutes and he smiled at her, relieved that she was alright. "You gotta stop doing that to me. Here," he said, handing her some kind of drink, "this is for the hangover."

She took it from him and drank some of it down. Her face contorted in disgust and he chuckled before telling her that she needed to drink it all. Putting on a brave face, she chugged it all and handed him back the glass when she was done. He smiled at her before placing the empty cup into the sink.

She stared, wordlessly, at him; her eyes watching his every step. "What are you doing here, Troy?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"If I'm not mistaken, I technically live here."

"I mean...shouldn't you be in rehab?"

"I should be," he said with a nod of his head, "but I was making such good progress that my counselor said it would be good for me to come back and see how I would fair being around things that might set me off. Of course, I'm still not allowed to drink, but..."

She nodded, understanding. "You could have called to tell me you were coming back."

"I wanted it to be a surprise. Which reminds me." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. "Happy Birthday."

She looked at it, then at him. "What's this?"

"Open it and see."

Taking the box from his hand, she slowly opened it to find a small amethyst stone set in gold attached to a gold necklace. She didn't know how to react to it as she pulled it out of the box.

"It's my birthstone."

"Yeah."

"It's beautiful."

"Here, let me."

She gasped softly at the spark that shot through her hand and up her arm when his fingers brushed hers. Looking up, she found that he had felt it too, for his eyes were wider than they had been a few seconds ago. He quickly recomposed himself and proceeded to place the necklace around her throat. Troy swallowed hard as he attempted to control the urge to caress her skin as he once would have. He worked hard to keep his emotions at bay when it came to her, but he should have known that controlling them when she wasn't around was different to controlling them when she was.

After clasping the two ends together, Troy backed away from her slowly and came to look into her eyes; the same eyes he missed so much. They stared at each other for few moments before he finally forced himself to look away and return to cooking breakfast. She watched him.

"You're cooking?" she asked, trying to start up a normal conversation.

"Yeah."

"You didn't have to, you know. If I wanted to die by food poisoning, I would have asked Sharpay," she said jokingly.

He glared playfully at her. "Ha ha. Very funny."

She laughed. "But, really, you didn't have to cook."

"Well, I thought since today's your birthday, it would be one less thing you'd have to do today."

"Ugh," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Don't remind me."

"Remind you of what?"

She jumped off the counter and went to the refrigerator. "That today's my birthday."

He nodded. "Sharpay mentioned you had some kind of hatred towards your birthday."

"Sharpay knows you're here?"

"Of course. How do you think I found you last night? Shit, it's a good thing, too. Who knows what that bastard would have done."

Remembering the fact that she'd almost been raped last night had caused Gabriella to wrap her arms around herself in an attempt to shield herself from the onslaught of emotions.

"I-I'd almost forgot about that." She pulled out the carton of orange juice from the fridge and set it on the counter. "Thank you...for that."

He shook his head. "You don't have to thank me, Gabriella. You were drunk; he saw an opening and decided to go for it. I would have killed myself if I didn't stop him."

Silence followed with only the sounds of Troy preparing two plates to fill up the space. He grabbed both plates and nodded for her to follow him into the dining area. He set them down and told her to sit before he went back for the drinks. Breakfast was eaten in silence. It wasn't awkward, but it wasn't comfortable, either.

"You're not gonna tell me, are you?" he asked.

"Tell you what?" Her eyes didn't leave her plate.

"About why you hate your birthday?"

"I'll tell you my secret," She lifted her gaze, "if you tell me yours."

It was a proposition, one that she wasn't going to back down from. If he told her his reason for hating his birthday, then she would tell him hers. His eyes immediately went dark and he looked back at his food.

"Forget it."

With his attention elsewhere, Gabriella looked him over and noticed something she hadn't noticed before. The auburn hair that was usually falling in his eyes was now up and away from his face.

"Your hair's shorter."

He looked up. "Huh? Oh, yeah. I, uh, I cut it. Thought since I was changing my life around, I might as well change my appearance, too. Doesn't look weird, does it?"

She shook her head. "No, it...it looks good on you."

Smiles were exchanged and the two went back to eating, this time in a more comfortable silence than before.

/0\

She should have known this was coming.

"Hurry up, Gabriella!"

"I'm coming. Geez, could you be anymore impatient?"

Fixing her hair the way she liked it, Gabriella pushed away from her bathroom mirror and made her way downstairs to greet an awaiting Sharpay. The blonde had called early to tell her that they were going out. Gabriella tried to get out of it, but Sharpay refused to let her. But she should have known that she wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. The only time that Gabriella ever spent her birthday with Sharpay in the past five years was for her eighteenth. After that, she kept herself locked in her apartment.

"I'm ready," she spoke, catching Sharpay's attention.

"Finally." She stood from her place beside Troy on the couch and walked over to Gabriella. "I thought you'd never come down."

"If it weren't for the fact that I know you, I wouldn't have."

"Well," she said with a smile, "it's a good thing you know me, then."

Gabriella smiled and shook her head before turning to Troy. "You sure you don't wanna come?"

He turned to her and smirked. "I'm sure. Too much girl talk will turn my brain to mush."

"No, too much TV will turn your brain to mush," Sharpay commented, pointing at the college basketball game that he was watching.

"Hey, at least I know what's going on. When it comes to you two, I'm fucking clueless."

"Not our fault that your brain isn't developed enough to understand us."

Troy glared at the blonde and Gabriella fought the urge to laugh. "Let's go, Sharpay, before you two really get into it."

"This isn't over, Bolton."

He chuckled. "When is it ever?"

She smiled before grabbing Gabriella's arm and ushering her out the door.

/0\

"So how does it feel?"

"How does what feel?"

"Being twenty-one?"

She shrugged. "Feels the same."

After a morning of wandering around Rodeo Drive, Sharpay and Gabriella stopped at a French Restaurant for lunch. Gabriella had tried to participate in the conversation that her best friend had divulged into since they left her apartment, but her head was in other places. Using what she'd learned from years of doing it with her father, Gabriella managed to get through the conversation without letting her friend notice. But after lunch, things were a bit different. Sharpay began to notice that Gabriella wasn't all there.

"Are you okay?" Sharpay asked after a few moments of silence.

Gabriella turned her head and forced a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"I really wish you would tell me."

"Shar," she said with a sigh, already knowing what she was talking about.

"No, Gabi, I'm tired of being in the dark about this. Whatever it is that happened...it's eating you up inside...it's making you become a different person whenever your birthday comes around."

"You wouldn't understand," she whispered.

"Then help me understand. Tell me what happened and, maybe, I can help you through it."

She shook her head. "I can't."

"Why not?"

"I just can't, alright?"

Nodding, Sharpay dropped the subject after seeing the look in Gabriella's brown eyes. Whatever it was that was making her act this way, it was painful; too painful for the brunette to even think about retelling.

"You wanna go back to the apartment now?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, let's go."

/0\

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Gabriella was shocked and surprised when she walked through her apartment door and found Chad, Destiny, Ryan and Taylor in her living room. She turned to Sharpay, desperate for an explanation. Sharpay smiled and shook her head, signaling to Gabriella that it wasn't her idea. Her caramel eyes shifted to the man standing in the walkway between the living room and the kitchen. Catching the hint, Gabriella turned her attention to Troy who stood against the door jam, smirking at her.

"You did this?"

He nodded and walked towards her. "I did."

"Why?"

"Well, because, from what Sharpay's told me, you deserve _not_ to be alone today...or tomorrow...or the next day...or the next day." As he spoke, he moved closer to her until he was directly in front of her. "So, I decided to throw you a small party today."

She looked at the small gathering and smiled softly. "Thank you."

He shrugged. "It's nothing."

"Can we have cake now?" Destiny asked from her place in her father's arms, causing the room to break out into laughter.


	33. Chapter 32

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: meant to upload this last night and completely forgot. There is a possibility that I might not upload for a while after this chapter. I have a project that I have to do for one of my classes and I need to focus all my energy into it.**

**Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 32

As much as she hated to admit it, Gabriella enjoyed her birthday for the first time since she was eight years old; before Alejandro began to change and before his addiction began to ruin everything.

The celebration lasted late into the night. Around ten, Destiny fell asleep and Troy carried her into his room so she could rest without any interruptions. An hour later, Chad decided that it was best for him to take Destiny home since she had school in the morning. After saying goodbye to the father-daughter duo, the remaining five adults decided to break out the alcohol and drank for the next hour. At midnight, Sharpay, Ryan and Taylor left and Gabriella was left alone with Troy for the second time in under twenty-four hours.

"Troy."

"Yeah," he responded, placing what was left of the cake into the refrigerator.

"Thanks again...for today."

He turned to her and shrugged. "No problem."

Going back to cleaning up, he allowed a blanket of silence to fall between them. Gabriella watched him from her place atop one of her counters. She'd wanted to help, but he refused. Even though her birthday was over, he didn't want her doing anything. So, she was left to observe.

"You didn't have to, you know. I would have been fine without a party."

"No, you wouldn't have. You would have been alone and left to think about whatever it was that caused you to have some ill-will towards your birthday."

"But you still didn't have to."

"Yes, I did," he said, moving to stand in front of her. "You did it for me, so I thought it would only be right to return the favor."

She smiled. "Thank you."

Returning the smile, he kissed the side of her head. "You're welcome."

Stifling a yawn, she jumped from her place on the counter and put her feet back on solid ground. "Well, I'm beat. I'm gonna get some sleep."

He nodded. "Don't worry about breakfast in the morning," he said as she started towards the stairs.

"Oh? Are you cooking again?" she asked, turning to him.

"No, I actually thought we could go out for breakfast."

Nodding, she flashed a smile. "Sounds good. See you in the morning."

"Night."

Turning on her heels, Gabriella left Troy to finish cleaning up and went to her room. For the next few minutes, as she prepared herself for bed, she had a soft smile on her face; remembering how much fun she'd had at the party that Troy managed to put together. She still didn't know how he was able to plan it in a short amount of time—or maybe it had been his plan all along—but she was glad that it happened.

Her mind kept to those thoughts as she unhooked her bra and threw it in the hamper that sat near the bathroom door. But as she slipped her pajama top over her head and pulled on her shorts, darker thoughts crept in. By the time she laid down to sleep, her smile was no longer on her face. Instead, a frown took its place and tears brimmed her eyes.

As minutes passed by, the weight of those thoughts became heavier and heavier. Closing her eyes, she tried desperately to push them out of her head, but they wouldn't go away. She gasped for air in an attempt not to cry out, not to alert the man downstairs, despite the fact that it felt as if her lungs were caving in on her. Bringing her legs up to her chest, she settled herself into a fetal position and continued to weep as quietly as she could.

Eventually, sleep called her and she gave in.

/0\

Something was wrong.

Troy didn't expect to walk into Gabriella's room and find her sitting up against her headboard with her arms wrapped around her legs and her eyes focused on some unknown object. The dry tear tracks on her face told him that she had been crying. How long ago that was? He wasn't quite sure. But it broke his heart anyway.

Something was definitely wrong.

"Gabriella."

Slowly, her head turned and she brought her vacant gaze to him. The detachment she had from her body was proof that even though he tried to get her to not think about her seventeenth birthday, the thoughts still managed to creep into her mind.

Crossing the threshold, he climbed into her bed and took a seat beside her. He gazed, sadly, at her and cupped her cheek. Somehow, the contact brought her out of her stupor and a fresh wave of tears began to flow from her eyes. He said nothing as he pulled her against him and held her as she cried.

"What happened?" he asked, softly, not really expecting her to answer.

"I-I had a nightmare," she whispered.

Nodding, he pulled her into his lap and cradled her body against his. He kissed her forehead and whispered nothings into her ear, trying to get her to calm down. It seemed like hours that he sat there with her, trying to comfort her the best way he could. After she managed to get her cries to cease and resorted to dry sobs, he pulled away slightly and looked down at her.

"You want me to call Sharpay?"

She nodded. "Yes, please."

Lifting her from his lap, he gently placed her on the mattress and went to go find his cell phone to call the blonde.

"_This better be important, Bolton. I'm on my way to get a much needed massage,"_ she said when she answered the phone.

"She needs you."

There was a moment of silence. _"I'll be right there."_

Nothing more needed to be said. Ending the call, Troy went back upstairs to keep Gabriella company while Sharpay made her way there. No more than fifteen minutes later, the doorbell rang and Troy went to answer it.

"Damn, Evans, what did you do, break every traffic rule in the book?"

"This is not the time, Bolton. Where is she?"

"Upstairs."

Nodding, she moved past him and went to see to her best friend. If there was one thing that Troy admired about Sharpay, it was her devotion to Gabriella. He'd never seen a stronger bond than the one between the blonde and the brunette. Following the blonde upstairs, he found that she'd already taken his place as Gabriella's comfort. Though she wasn't crying anymore, it was obvious that whatever her nightmare had been about, it was still troubling her.

"I'll be downstairs if you need anything," he said, causing Sharpay to look at him.

She nodded. "Thanks for calling me."

"She wanted me to."

"Still," she said, a soft smile on her face. "Thank you."

He smiled and nodded before returning to the living room.

/0\

Nearly two hours after he'd called Sharpay, Troy found himself sitting on the couch, watching television without actually _watching_ it. His mind was elsewhere. He wanted to know if Gabriella was alright and if Sharpay was able to find out what her nightmare had been about. He hadn't asked because he knew that Gabriella wouldn't have told him. But maybe Sharpay would be able to get it from her. As if she knew he was thinking about her, the blonde came down the stairs and took a seat beside him.

"How is she?"

She sighed. "Better."

"Did she tell you what the nightmare was about?"

"No, but I think it has something to do with the events of her birthday five years ago."

He nodded. "I thought so, too, but I wasn't sure."

"You don't mind if I stay here, just for the night."

"Um...yeah, I guess, but it doesn't really matter if I mind or not. It's not my apartment."

"I know, but you do, technically, live here and I wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable or anything."

He smirked. "Well, well, looks like you do care, Evans."

Rolling her eyes, she pushed him playfully and tried to hold back the smile that threatened to stretch across her face. "Whatever, Bolton."

Footfalls on the staircase captured their attention and they turned their heads around. Gabriella smiled sadly as she continued down the stairs. Sharpay stood and walked over to her.

"You okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Actually...I'm kinda hungry."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot neither of us has eaten today," Troy commented. "How about we get dressed and then go out to eat?" he asked Gabriella.

"Yeah, sure. Isn't that what we were gonna do anyway?"

"It is. Evans, you up for grabbing some food."

"Sure. I haven't eaten since breakfast this morning, so I'm pretty famished."

"Alright. Is ten minutes enough time for you to get ready?" His question was directed at Gabriella, but Sharpay answered him instead.

"Oh, please, Bolton. To achieve beauty, we need at least twenty minutes."

"Twenty minutes? For what?"

"Make-up, of course."

"Shar, I don't use that much make-up anymore."

"What? Why?"

"Because she looks fine without all that crap on her face."

"Not to mention, I've been taking care of my skin lately and I find I don't need it as much. I'll still wear eyeliner and lipstick and the occasional eye shadow and blush, but I don't use foundation and all of that anymore."

"Oh."

"So, ten minutes?"

"Fifteen?"

He nodded. "See you in fifteen," he said before going inside his room.

/0\

Sitting in a restaurant in downtown Los Angeles, Troy watched, silently, as Gabriella and Sharpay spoke about something he had no idea about: shoes. Rolling his eyes, he forked a piece of his steak and shoved it in his mouth. He wished that they would switch the topic of conversation to something he actually cared about. But, knowing them, he knew they wouldn't.

"Is there any possibility that we could _not_ talk about shoes?"

Sharpay sent him a look before simply stating: "No."

He groaned as she turned back to Gabriella. The brunette, however, took pity on him and decided to change the subject.

"So, Troy," she started, catching his attention, "you never actually told me how rehab was."

Giving her a small smile, he was thankful that she'd changed the subject and that she was seeming to return to normal.

"Yeah, Bolton. You never gave us the run down on what happened," Sharpay asked, truly interested in his nearly six months in rehab.

"Well, when I got there, they gave me a room by myself. They told me I couldn't get a roommate until I had progressed up to that point where I could be trusted to be in a room without supervision. The first two months was hard," he recollected, remembering how mentally and physically exhausted he was, "but I was determined to get through it. By December, they'd told me that I wasn't as much of an addict as they thought I was. They said that if I was, then I wouldn't have been able to get through the first stage as quickly as I did. I was able to get a roommate, even though they said that I probably would be able to leave within a month's time."

"Make any friends?"

"Just with my roommate. Name was Luke. He was an alcoholic and had been there for almost a year before he finally moved past stage one. He's supposed to be out of there by the summer."

"That had to have been hard to know that his roommate was able to leave before him after only being there for five months," Gabriella commented.

"It was, but he said he understood. Told me I must have had one hell of a strong incentive to get my ass back to reality."

"Did you?"

"Of course. Getting clean was something that Daisy wanted me to do; it was something I silently promised her I would do."

Gabriella nodded, keeping an expression of indifference on her face despite the fact that her heart was slowly breaking within her chest. She hoped that despite his cold demeanor in the days before his departure, he'd chosen her as part of his incentive to get better. But how sorely mistaken she was.

Sharpay knew that Troy's comment had an effect on her best friend, no matter how much she tried to hide it. Nothing could be hidden from Sharpay Evans; it was the reason why she knew that the two sitting at the table with her were in love with each other. Things needed to be fixed, confessions needed to be made, but there was nothing she could do except help move them in the right direction.

"Well, I gotta get going," she said as she stood.

"Go? Go where?" Gabriella asked.

"My parents' anniversary is coming up soon. Twenty-five years of love," she said with a smile. "And I'm planning their party. I have to make sure the guest list is properly checked over and sent out and I have to make sure the caterers have the right menu. A lot of things need to be done before the day comes."

"But it's not until April."

"Babe, you know it takes weeks of planning in order to make a party perfect. Not to mention with my birthday being around that same time, I need to make sure my birthday plans don't clash with the party."

"What are your plans this year?"

"You, me, Chad...maybe Bolton...and a wonderful sun-filled vacation to the Italian shores, of course."

Troy raised a brow. "You're actually inviting me."

"I said _maybe_. Depends on how I feel about you in two months."

He chuckled. "I guess I better not piss you off then."

"Piss me off all you want, Bolton. There are other things that you can do that will make me like you less." He tilted his head, truly confused to what she was talking about. "You'll figure it out. See you later, Hun."

Sauntering out the door, Sharpay left the two alone, hoping that the problems between them would work themselves out before Gabriella's heart could no longer take the pain and the girl stopped feeling altogether.

"So..." he started, breaking the silence between them.

"Do you think we could go somewhere?" she asked.

"Um...sure. Where?"

/0\

He hadn't expected this.

Since the day of his parents' funeral, Troy hadn't particularly been fond of cemeteries, so it was unnerving when Gabriella had told him that's exactly where she wanted to go. Walking beside her, his eyes darted from side to side as they passed tombstone after tombstone. She, however, was silent. She didn't seem to be bothered that they were walking among those who no longer lived. But, then again, she had seen death twice in her life and then survived the same fate the same amount of times.

Finally, she came to a stop and knelt down in front of one tombstone. Troy's eyes scanned the graves nearby and found them to share the same surname as the woman kneeling in front of him. They were the only ones in the immediate area and he could only guess that this was a family plot, meant only for them and those that followed. Looking to the one Gabriella sat before, he noticed that this one was blank. Confusion spread across his face and he opened his mouth to question it, but she seemed to have already known what he was about to ask.

"It's my Mother's," she spoke, her voice soft. "It's not accidental that it's void of her name." She sighed. "My Father did it on purpose."

"Why?"

"Because he didn't like that she left him. He wanted to hate her, but he couldn't no matter how much he tried to."

"How did she die?"

"Bullet to the temple. I...I found her. Seems like death always seems to find me, but when I want to find it, it evades me."

"Where's your brother's?"

"Not here."

"What? How come?"

"My Father didn't want the fact that Alejandro was a drug user to tarnish the Montez family name; a name my Grandfather had brought to prestige with honest hard work. As much as he loved his son, he didn't want that to pollute our name. He even paid off the media to keep the cause of Alejandro's death a secret."

"So where is he buried?"

She sighed. "Somewhere in here."

"You don't know where?"

"Yeah, but...I haven't been there since his funeral."

"Why not?"

She shrugged. "I think it's because I can't bring myself to hate him for leaving me...and I know that I will if I visit him. My heart hasn't healed from the loss of him."

"So I'm guessing since you're visiting your Mother, that your heart has healed from the loss of her?"

"No, it hasn't."

"Then..."

"My Mother... After my Mother's death, I hated her. I hated her so much that I even went to her funeral drunk. I embarrassed my Father so much, but I didn't care. It wasn't until after my attempted suicide that I stopped hating her, but I wasn't ready to forgive her. We just...had something in common."

"What was it?"

"We both tried something, but she...she was able to succeed with it."

Confusion marred his face once more until realization flooded his mind. "You mean she..."

Gabriella nodded and stood, turning to him. "She committed suicide. It's the reason why I can't hate her, but can't forgive her. She was hurting and wanted an easy way out. I didn't understand it until I was craving that same thing. But...she left me. She left me alone because she couldn't deal with Alejandro's death. I wasn't enough for her."

Grabbing her wrist, Troy pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her. He finally understood. This was the real reason why she wanted her father's love. She wanted someone in her family to love her enough not to leave her. Even though her brother had loved her, she had felt and watched him slip between her fingers and leave her through no fault of her own. Her mother, however, didn't love her enough to stay and be with the one child still living. Despite her father's obvious disinterest in his daughter, she wanted to believe that she could change things between them and, maybe, get him to finally love her.

_And the only way for that to happen is for her to marry Max_.

Sighing internally, Troy tightened his grip on the woman in his arms. When he'd realized how stupid he'd been not to get her reasoning until Daisy had explained it further to him, he never truly fathomed _why_ Gabriella wanted her father to love and accept her. Yes, she didn't want to lose him, but why? That was what he never got. Why didn't she want to lose the man that seemed to not care about her? But now, now he understood.

"I'm sorry."

She backed away slightly, confusion on her face. "For what?"

"For not understanding why you're trying so hard to get your Father to love you. It never really made sense to me, but now I see it's only because you want someone in your family to love you enough." He brushed a piece of hair from you face. "I can finally see why you'd want to marry Max."

"Troy, I..."

Before she could continue, her phone rang. Someone, somewhere, didn't like her. If they did, they would allow her to speak—to confess—without interruption. Sighing, she pulled out her phone.

"Hello?"

"_Hey, Gabriella, it's Max."_

"Hi. How are you?"

"_I'm good. You?"_

"Fine. Just fine."

"_So, um...do you think we could meet somewhere and talk? There's something I need to talk to you about."_

"Sure. But do you think that maybe we could wait until next week? I'm busy all this week."

"_Yeah, sure. I'll call you next week so we can set up a place and time."_

"Alright. I'll talk to you later."

"_Bye."_

"Bye."

She ended the call and placed her phone back into her purse. Turning her attention back on Troy, she found he was staring at her mother's gravestone. His eyes were distant as if he were reliving a different time and a different place.

"Troy?"

He snapped out of his reverie and looked at her. "What?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just... Who was that?"

She hated that he was avoiding the question, but she decided not to inquire any further. "Just Max. He has something he wants to talk to me about."

"Oh. When are you meeting him?"

"No idea at the moment. He's supposed to call next week so we can set up a time and place."

He nodded, absentmindedly. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," she responded with a nod of her own.

Sending her a short smile, Troy started off towards the way they came, not realizing that she wasn't following. Gabriella's eyes lingered on her mother's tombstone. No matter how many times she came to visit, she'd always leave with a heavy heart.

"Gabriella?" She turned her attention to the man standing only a few feet a head of her. "You coming?"

She nodded and quickly moved to stand beside him. Without a second thought, she reached for his hand and intertwined their fingers. He glanced down at their joined hands and forced himself not to pull away. She needed some sort of comfort and he wouldn't deny her that, even if it meant putting a crack in his well constructed wall. He gave her a reassuring squeeze before leading her towards the exit.


	34. Chapter 33

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: thank you all for bearing with me. still working on that project, but I managed to get this out. excuse my lack of establishing time. lol**

******Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 33

"Are you ever going to tell me?"

Gabriella didn't answer. She knew perfectly well what Sharpay was asking of her and, truthfully, she wanted to, but couldn't. The truth behind her nightmares, behind her hatred for her birthday, was all too painful to relive. Shaking her head, she heard her best friend sigh, disappointedly, and return to reading the magazine in her hand. She hated making Sharpay feel left out, but this wasn't something you share with people.

"I'm sorry, Shar."

"It's fine, Gabs, I just... I wish you'd tell me."

"It's not like you're the only person that doesn't know," she said as she turned out the bathroom light and went to take a seat beside her. "No one knows about it; no one except complete strangers."

"But still," she whined, placing the magazine face down on her legs. "You're my best friend, Gabriella. I'm supposed to be able to comfort you when you're hurting, but how can I do that when I don't even know _why_ you're hurting."

"Why does it matter? You're supposed to just be there when I need you."

"And I am! But...but sometimes it hurts when you can't even confide in me."

"I know and I want to, but I can't. I don't even want to think about it much less tell someone about it. You have to understand where I'm coming from, Shar. When I'm ready, I'll tell you, but I...I just can't right now."

Sighing, Sharpay nodded before wrapping her arms around her best friend. "I understand, Gabi."

"Thank you," she whispered.

Backing up slightly, the blonde smiled and kissed Gabriella's forehead. "You're welcome. And to think we used to hate each other," she said with a small laugh.

"I never hated you. I didn't like you, but I didn't hate you."

"Really?"

She nodded. "Why? Did you?"

"Truthfully? Yeah."

"You hated me?" Gabriella squeaked out, surprised at her best friends admission.

"Only because I thought you hated me," Sharpay was quick to explain. "If I had known that you actually didn't hate me, then I wouldn't have felt that way about you." She bit her lip. "I'm sorry."

Smiling, Gabriella shook her head. "It's fine, Shar. I'm just glad we're friends now."

"So am I."

"I'm also glad that you're spending the night. Being alone right now...it's not something I want, at the moment."

Sharpay smiled softly. "It's no problem, Gabs. You're my best friend," she said, running her hand through Gabriella's hair, "my sister. Whenever you need me, I'll be here at the drop of a hat."

"Then..." She glanced down at her hands, "can you give me some advice?"

"Of course."

Taking a deep breath, she looked back into Sharpay's caramel eyes. "What do I do about Troy?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean, Shar. I know you know. I know..." She lowered her voice, "I know you can tell that I love him."

Sighing, Sharpay took her hands in her own. "The only advice I can give you is to tell him."

"But what if...what if he doesn't feel the same way?"

The blonde scoffed. "Please, Gabriella. You cannot tell me you can't see the truth in his eyes."

"I-I thought I could, but...but what if it's just me wishing for it to be true."

"Believe me, it's not just your imagination. I can tell, too. He loves you, whether he's figured it out or not." She squeezed her hand. "Just tell him how you feel."

She nodded. "And...and Max?"

"What about him?"

"What do I do about this wedding we're going to be forced into?"

"Tell him the truth. Tell him that you don't want to sacrifice everything for a sham wedding."

"And my Dad?"

"Gabs, no offense, but your Dad is a heartless bastard, who doesn't know how wonderful his daughter is. He doesn't deserve all the time and effort you're putting into trying to gain his love. I'm surprised you've kept up with trying for this long."

"I just...I don't want to lose him."

"Which is worse; losing someone who doesn't give a shit about you or losing someone who actually makes you happy?"

"I-I guess the latter."

"You guess? No, Gabi, you know. You shouldn't have to strive to get someone to love you, it should come natural."

She nodded. "You're right. But what do I do? Do I break it off with Max first, or do I tell Troy that I love him?"

"Honestly, you should do what you feel is better. If you wanna tell Troy, then tell him, but make sure you also tell him that you plan on breaking things off with Max. If you end your engagement first, then make sure you don't wait a long period of time before telling Troy."

"Thanks, Shar."

"You're welcome."

/0\

Silently making her way downstairs, Sharpay wasn't prepared to find anyone else up but herself. When she walked into the kitchen to make some coffee, she found Troy already there, his own mug in his hands. His blue eyes glanced up and he nodded to her in acknowledgement.

"Good morning, Bolton," she said, striding over to the coffee maker.

"Evans." A smirk graced his lips before it quickly disappeared. "How'd she sleep last night?" he asked, his eyes trained on the stairs.

"Better. She was moving around a lot, but she never woke." He nodded. "So," she said, turning to him, coffee mug in hand, "are you gonna tell her?"

"Tell her what?"

"That you love her."

His head snapped to her. "What?"

"Oh don't give me that look, Bolton. I know, for a fact, that you love her."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do. Stop trying to play dumb with me. You love her and I can see it written all over your face."

He sighed. "What does it matter if I do?"

"It matters because she deserves to know."

"No, she doesn't. Why should I complicate her life by putting that on her shoulders? Gabriella wants to be happy and the only way she'll be happy is to marry Max and make her Father finally accept her."

"You know, as well as I, that he'll never do that. She knows it, too."

"Yeah, but it won't stop her from trying."

Sharpay's face fell when she saw the pain on his face. He wanted Gabriella to be happy, even if it didn't involve him. Walking up to him, she put a hand on his shoulder and watched as his eyes connected with hers.

"Troy...what do you think she feels for you?"

He shrugged. "I know she likes me more than she would a regular friend, but...I don't think she loves me...not the way I love her, at least."

"I think you're wrong."

A brow lifted high onto his forehead. "What do you know that I don't?"

She shook her head. She wanted, desperately, to tell him the truth, but that was Gabriella's place, not hers. Smiling sadly, she squeezed his shoulder.

"Just don't give up, yet. You never know what might happen."

Letting her hand drop from his shoulder, she sauntered towards the living room, ignoring his confused gaze following her.

"Seriously, Evans, what do you know that I don't?"

She laughed. "You're gonna have to wait to find out."

"Come on! Why won't you just tell me?"

"Because you need to find out on your own."

Footsteps alerted them to another presence and they both turned their gaze to the staircase. Gabriella looked back at them completely baffled by what was going on.

"Am I missing something?"

"She knows something, but doesn't want to tell me," Troy answered, turning his gaze back to the blonde, who was now seated on the couch.

"Knows what?"

"Doesn't matter," Sharpay said with a shake of her head. "Like I just said, you're gonna find out soon enough."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Turning on his heel, he went back into his room to get ready for the day. Gabriella turned her gaze to Sharpay, questions lingering in her eyes. She really wanted to know what they had been talking about .

"What was that about?"

Sharpay turned her head to Gabriella. "Nothing."

"Shar."

"I swear, Gabi, it was nothing."

Looking skeptical, Gabriella could do nothing but push the nagging side of her to the back of her mind and forget the whole thing. Sighing, she went back up to her room to take a quick shower. Sharpay took a sip from her coffee mug and silently hoped that Troy would pick up on what she was trying to say. She knew Gabriella and knew that there had to be a plan B. Even if Gabriella broke things off with Max, there would be no guarantee that she would tell Troy the truth. So, Sharpay had to rely on the male to make the first move if Gabriella didn't. But he would only make that move if he knew, or at least had the inkling, that she felt the same way.

/0\

Despite the good amount of sleep she received, Gabriella said goodbye to her best friend, explaining that she would be fine on her own. Sharpay wasn't quick to believe it, but knew how stubborn Gabriella could be. So, the blonde left, with parting words that she should call her if anything happened.

"I never thought she'd leave," Troy said when Gabriella walked into the kitchen.

"Oh, shut up." Smiling, she hopped onto a counter and watched as Troy made dinner. "Cooking again? Should I be afraid?"

Sticking his tongue out, he ignored the laugh she emitted at his display of childish behavior.

"You know, you really shouldn't insult the person that's cooking your food. It doesn't bode well and earns you a nice surprise in your food."

"What are you talking about?"

He chuckled. "I'm saying that if you were to act this way around someone who wasn't as nice as I am, you would most definitely be getting spit flavored food served to you."

Her face screwed up in disgust. "Ew. That actually happens?"

"Yep. Especially in restaurants."

"That's disgusting."

"It is, but it does happen."

"Thanks for the warning."

"You're welcome."

"What are we eating anyway?"

"Just my Mom's famous spaghetti," he said, glancing quickly at her before returning to slicing up herbs and tossing them into the sauce. "Everything's made from scratch, minus the noodles."

"Sounds lovely."

He smiled. "It is. Every time I got a passing grade on a test, my Mother would make it for me. It was my favorite dish of hers. The recipe's been passed down on her side for generations."

"Seems your Mom has a lot in common with mine."

He nodded. "Seems she does."

"Maybe she and I can swap a few recipes."

His shoulders went rigid and his smile slipped off his face. Gabriella noticed this change and a question went up in her head: did something happen to his mother? Able to reach him where she sat, she touched her hand to his wrist and he looked up at her.

"You all right?"

Nodding, he forced a smile that did not reach his eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine."

She bit her lip and took her hand away. The urge to nag was burning in the back of her mind, but she fought it. Nagging had done nothing to help her when it came to finding out anything that involved his past. If anything, it made him more defensive. She was not in the best of situations to push him away, not when she desperately wanted to tell him how she felt. The conversation between her and Sharpay still lingered in her mind, but she was hesitant to spill her heart out just yet.

But the urge was there, trying to punch a hole in her subconscious.

"Wanna try some?" he asked, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"Huh?"

"The sauce. You wanna try some?"

"Oh, sure."

Grabbing a spoon, he scooped some of the red-brown sauce and handed it over to her. He watched as she placed the utensil in her mouth and her eyes closed in delight, followed by a soft moan.

"I'm guessing by that sound that you like it."

"Like it? Troy, it's like heaven is dancing across my taste buds."

He chuckled. "Well, I'm glad it's satisfactory to you."

He returned to checking on the noodles. Out the corner of his eye, he watched as Gabriella leaned over and took another scoop of the sauce.

"Hey." He placed a cover over the pot. "No more."

"I can't help it if it's tasty," she said before sticking the spoon in her mouth.

Shaking his head, he chuckled as he spotted a spot of sauce that decided to stick to just below her bottom lip. She looked at him as if he had lost his mind before he explained to her what was on sitting on her face. Blushing in embarrassment, she tried to wipe it off, but missed horribly every time.

"Here, let me."

Walking to her, he stopped right in front of her and wiped the sauce from off her lip. She smiled gratefully before watching him lick it off his finger. Tension shifted. Looking into her eyes, he could clearly see the lust pooling behind those brown orbs. His gaze flicked to her lips and he watched as she bit the bottom one in anticipation. Like a moth to a flame, Troy was drawn to her and began closing the space between them. Releasing her lip from her teeth, Gabriella began to meet him half-way as her eyes slowly drew to a close.

He followed suit; shutting his eyes as he continued towards her lips. He had been dreaming about this moment for five and a half months. _Every night_ he dreamt about feeling the caress of her lips against his own; about feeling the familiar sparks that ignited within his chest whenever they kissed. But then...that was just it. That's all they were: dreams. He never allowed his dreams to hold any weight when he was awake because he knew that it could never happen.

His eyes snapped open and he stared down at Gabriella's face; eyes closed, lips puckered slightly. He wanted nothing more than to kiss those beautiful rosy lips of hers, but he was torn. War waged within him as he tried to decide what he should do; the opposing voices in his head shouting loudly at him. Finally, one outweighed the other; the one that told him that if he kissed her, he would only be breaking down the wall he built to make sure the blow wouldn't hurt as much when she married Maximilian.

Sighing internally, he kissed her cheek, watching as her eyes opened in confusion.

"I should finish cooking dinner."

Moving away from her, he didn't fail to notice the hurt within the brown orbs he'd come to love so much.

/0\

Gabriella could not lie that Troy's rejection hurt, but she had refused to let it show during dinner. It wasn't until she was in the safety of her bedroom. Maybe she should have told him that she loved him; maybe then he wouldn't have pulled away. She knew the reason he did it was because she was still engaged to Max, but it didn't make the feeling of rejection hurt any less. She'd felt this way all of her life, she was used to it, but that didn't mean she was immune to it. Being denied by the one person she'd unconsciously given her heart to was not something that she could shut her emotions off to.

Eventually, she slipped into a deep sleep and deep sleeps brought dark dreams.

/0\

A strangled sob escaped her throat as her body shot upright, forcing her out of the nightmare that plagued her sleep. Panting heavily, she brought her knees up to her chest and leaned her forehead against them. She fought hard, but that didn't stop the tears from streaming down her cheeks or the wails from leaving her lips. Biting her lip, she muffled them greatly so that she wouldn't awake Troy and wrapped her arms around her knees. Sobs shook her body as she cried; images from her memories flashing before her closed lids.

/0\

Something awoke Troy, but he wasn't sure what it was. He laid there, in the dark, for a few minutes before finding himself craving something cold to drink. Running his hand through his hair, he stumbled out of his room and the first thing he caught sight of was the lone figure sitting by the window, illuminated by the moonlight. He was confused as to why Gabriella was up this late—or early, however you want to look at it.

Silently, he crept towards her, not wanting to alert her to his presence just yet. When he was close enough, the sound of soft crying reached his ears and he knew she must have had another nightmare.

"Gabriella?"

She gasped softly and turned her head, surprised that he was awake and embarrassed that she had been caught.

"I'm sorry if I woke you," she said as she wiped her tears away, though she knew new ones would replace them.

"You didn't. Actually, I don't know what did." He took a seat in front of her on the windowsill. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she said with a nod. "Just...had another nightmare."

"I figured that much." He took her hand in his. "You wanna talk about it?"

She shook her head. "No."

He sighed. "Gabriella..."

"Please, Troy," she begged, her voice cracking. "Please, just drop it."

Nodding, he ran his thumb over her knuckles, trying hard to comfort her. She looked at his roaming thumb before turning her attention back to the world beyond her window. He kept his gaze on his face, watching as tears still ran down her tired face.

"Come on," he said after a few minutes and stood up.

Her head turned and she looked up at him. "What?"

"You need sleep."

"I can't. Every time I close my eyes, I..."

"I know, but you need your rest."

"Troy, I really don't want to."

"Even if you don't want to, at least lie down and let your body rest." He picked her up and carried her into his room.

Not really in the mood to protest, she quietly laid her head in the crook of his neck. Climbing back into his bed, he completely forgot about his thirst for something to drink and, instead, focused on making Gabriella comfortable. He laid her down first before lying beside her and pulling her to him, letting her head rest on his chest.

They sat in silence as she listened to his heartbeat, the rhythm slowly lulling her to sleep. Now would be perfect for her to tell him; to confess to him what she'd wanted to tell him since the first day he smiled at her, but didn't realize until the day he told her how he'd gotten his scar and didn't admit to until the day he left for rehab.

"Troy?"

"Hm," he responded, his hand playing with the ends of her hair, helping in putting her to sleep.

"Troy, I...I..." Before she could get another word out, she slipped into unconsciousness, leaving the words to be lost to air.

He glanced down at the woman in his arms with tear tracks lining her cheeks, still beautiful as she is every day. Sighing, he kissed her forehead and wrapped his arm around her waist.

Thinking back to earlier, back to dinner, he clearly saw the pain written on her face even if she was trying hard to hide it. He didn't mean to hurt her—didn't _want_ to hurt her—but it was inevitable. He had to keep his distance to make sure she didn't manage to crawl inside of his heart once more. Five and a half months in rehab was spent pushing cocaine and her out of his system. He loved her, yes, but he couldn't let her get under his skin once more; not when heartbreak was imminent on his end.

Running a finger across her cheeks, down her nose and over her lips, he studied her face, wishing things could be different.

"I'm sorry, Gabriella," he whispered to her unconscious form. "I'm sorry that I have to hurt you. I want you to know that I'm getting no pleasure out of this either, but...you have to understand something," He kissed her forehead; breathing in the scent that was made up of vanilla and raspberries, "I've fallen for you, Gabriella. I've fallen in love, but I know that it won't matter. You're gonna marry Max and never look back. I understand. I really do. Will I like it? No, but I'll accept it. If you're going to be happy at the end of it all, then that's all that matters."

He stared at her sleeping face, letting his confession fall on deaf ears. Somehow, he wished she could have heard him, but he knew she was dead to the world. Resting his head back, he closed his eyes and allowed his body to succumb to sleep.


	35. Chapter 34

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: don't know how I managed to get this chapter done in three days, but I did it. I'm curious, one of my readers have already said that she thought she knew what happened to Gabriella on her birthday. Anyone else have any theories? And, guys, this story is coming to an end. I'll probably end it at 37 or 38**

******Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 34

Something woke her.

What that something was, she didn't know. But when she reached for the warmth that had been beneath her finger tips only hours ago, it wasn't there. Her eyes opened and her body shot upward. She searched the room for the missing occupant, but found no one. She was alone.

"Troy?"

When no answer was returned, she slipped from the sheets and went to look for him. She found him in the living room, asleep on the couch. Confusion passed through her. When had he left the room? _Why_ did he leave the room? She walked over and took a seat on the coffee table.

"Troy, wake up."

He groaned and opened one eye. "What?"

"Why are you sleeping out here?"

He shrugged. "I don't know."

That was a lie, but he was certain she hadn't picked up on it. Slight hurt passed through her eyes, leaving as soon as it came.

"Oh, well...do you want me to make breakfast?"

"Honestly, I just wanna go back to sleep."

She nodded and watched as he turned over, facing his back towards her. With a sad sigh, she stood and went into the kitchen. She made breakfast for herself in silence and ate it slowly. The pain that had filled her heart just hours before was beginning to bloom once more. Finding she could no longer stomach her food, she threw it away and placed the used plate and utensils into the sink before going upstairs.

Taking a deep breath, Gabriella busied herself with finding something to wear while trying to hold back her tears. She didn't know why he was acting this way, but she didn't like it. As she moved towards the bathroom, her cell phone went off and she calmed herself before going to answer it.

"Hello?"

"_Gabriella, it's Max. Listen, would it be possible for us to meet today. I have to leave in a few days for business and I have a few things I want to discuss with you before I do."_

"Oh. Yeah, sure. Just say where and when."

/0\

Sitting in the small café she'd agreed to meet Max in, she wondered what it was that he wanted to talk about. On the way over, she decided that this would be the perfect time to tell him that she was no longer interested in this deal that their parents wanted. Hearing the tinkling of the bell above the door, she watched as Max walked in with Taylor by his side. Confusion spread across her face as they sat down.

"Hello, Gabriella. Sorry we're late," he said as they took a seat across from her.

"It's no problem at all, but...what's going on?" she asked, looking between the two.

"Well, that's actually what I came here to talk to you about." She tilted her head. "I think it would best if we _don't _get married."

"Wait...what?"

"It's just that...since you introduced me to Taylor, we've been seeing more of each other and we found that we really like each other and enjoy each other's company. I talked it over with my parents—told them what I wanted—and they weren't exactly happy, but they said that they would wait another year before I took over the company. This will allow Taylor and I to really get to know each other."

"D-Does my Father know this?"

"Yes. I told him the entire situation and that it won't affect the merger at all." She nodded. "A-Are you okay?"

Okay? She was relieved. She was now free of an obligation that was sure to push her into the deepest depression in her life. She was now free to pursue a happiness that her heart saw fit; happiness that only resided within one person.

"I'm fine. Actually, I'm better than fine, I'm great."

He smiled. "That's great."

"Why do I have a feeling I know where that smile is coming from?" Taylor asked, a knowing smirk on her face.

Smile? She was smiling? Gabriella hadn't even realized that she was. Looking towards the dark-skinned female, she shrugged. Her head and her heart were on Cloud Nine. If Taylor knew the reason why she was smiling, then that was fine. Snapping slightly out of her dreaming state, she looked at Maximilian, softening her smile.

"I am _so _happy for you. I'm so glad that now you can marry someone you would actually want to spend the rest of your life with."

"I could have spent the rest of my life with you."

"Yes, but think about it, Max. Would we really have been happy?"

He shook his head. "No, I guess not."

"At least now, you have a chance at that."

Nodding, he looked to her. "And you?"

She shrugged. "I might."

"You might?" Taylor asked, giving her a knowing look. "I think it's more than just 'might'."

Grinning, she rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Taylor."

The dark-skinned woman laughed while Maximilian chose not to ask what he was missing.

/0\

After an hour of conversation, it took Gabriella all her will power not to skip home like a little school girl. She could not _believe_ her luck. Now all she had to do was tell Troy that she loved him and all would be well in her life. When she opened her front door, however, she did not expect to find Sharpay and Chad sitting in her living room. Confused, she closed the door behind her and moved towards them.

"Hey, what are you two doing here?"

"Well, supposedly Troy has something he wants to tell us, but we were waiting for you to return," Chad explained.

"Which by the way...what took you so long?" Sharpay asked.

"I met with Max today and I..."

"You're back."

She turned at the sound of his voice, a bright smile on her face. She failed to hear the tone of his voice, but didn't fail to see the emotionless look in his eyes. Her smile faltered and she nodded.

"Yeah. Listen, Troy, there's something I need to tell you."

"Let me, first. Please sit."

Nodding, she took a seat beside Sharpay and waited to hear what he had to say. Something in the back of her mind warned her that this wasn't going to be good, but she just thought she was being paranoid.

He took a deep breath. "I'm...I'm leaving..._again_."

"Again?" Sharpay asked. "For what?"

"I still have things in my system that I need to flush out before I'm completely back to normal. Not to mention there's...there's a promise that I made that I need to fulfill."

Gabriella stared at nothing as Troy explained why he needed to leave. She could feel her heart breaking in her chest all over again. He was leaving. He was leaving and she hadn't even worked up the courage to tell him that she loved him.

"Are you gonna come back?" Chad asked.

"If I do, it won't be for a while. There's someone I need to find."

Her body went rigid. Someone he needed to... Daisy. That was the only person she could think of that he would want to find. Biting her lip, she nodded and stood, capturing the attention of the other three occupants. She opened her mouth to say something, but thought against it. Instead, she walked out of her apartment, leaving two people clueless and one worried.

/0\

Tears slid down her cheeks as she stood on the wet sand, facing the ocean. Somehow or another, she'd successfully made her way from her apartment to Venice beach without managing to break down and on foot. It was the farthest she'd ever walked in heels, but the pain in her feet was nothing compared to the one in her heart. She should have told him; should have told him that she loved him. But what good would that have done? Would he have changed his mind? Probably not.

She cursed Sharpay for making her believe that he really did love her. She had completely forgotten about the ex-prostitute and his devotion to her. Did he know that she didn't see him as anything more than a brother? Did he know that his love for her was one-sided? And if he did, did he believe he could change her mind?

_Stop it_, she berated herself.

Thinking that way wouldn't help. Thinking that way would just make things worse. Wrapping her arms tightly around herself, she desperately tried to fight the urge to just break down and cry. She wanted to. Oh, how she wanted to, but she wouldn't allow it.

"Gabriella?"

Her body tensed, but she made no move to face him. "Go away, Troy."

"Not until you tell me what's wrong."

She shook her head. "What does it matter? Nothing I say will change anything."

"Gabriella..." He grabbed her bicep, but she quickly ripped it out of his grip.

"_Don't_. Just don't."

"Tell me what's wrong."

"You're leaving; that's what's wrong. You're leaving and I..."

"I told you, I have to."

"You have to? Just cut the bullshit and just...say you want to."

He sighed. "Alright. I want to. I want to because I need to find someone."

"Daisy."

"What?"

"I know you want to find Daisy. I mean...you love her so it-it's understandable."

"Gabriella..." He wanted to tell her the truth, wanted to tell her that he didn't love Daisy, but it seemed like the best way to go. She was giving him a way out of it without even realizing it, "thank you for understanding."

She nodded, but said nothing. Somewhere deep inside of her still hoped that he would deny loving Daisy, but that hope was gone now. He thanked her for understanding, a clear sign that he, indeed, loved the blonde. On the verge of breaking, she turned away from the ocean and walked in the opposite direction of him.

"Gabriella." Catching up to her, he moved so he was in front of her and grabbed her arm. "Gabriella, what...?"

"Please, Troy, just let me go."

"Not until you tell me why this is upsetting you so much?"

Shaking her head, she looked anywhere but at him. She couldn't say it now. It wouldn't make things any better. She loved him, but he loved someone else. Just thinking about it made her heart hurt. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she stared out at nothing.

"Gabriella, tell me," he whispered.

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because...it'll just reinforce the fact that...that everyone I've ever loved...never loved me."

"What?"

Finally, she looked at him; brown eyes shining with hurt, sorrow and love. "I love you, alright? I have since the beach party; since the day you smiled at me and didn't accept until the day you left for rehab. But none of it matters now. You're... You love someone else. You're gonna be happy with someone else. That's what really matters, right; your happiness?"

He nodded, though still shocked at her confession. "...Right."

Breaking her gaze away, she looked at a spot on his shirt. "Happiness; the one thing I'm not entitled to."

"That's not true."

"Yes, it is. All my life, I just wanted someone to love me, but...no one ever does."

Removing her arm from his grip, she proceeded to leave the beach. She wanted to get back to her apartment and lock herself in her room so she could cry in peace. Troy followed behind her, but she didn't acknowledge him. He was, after all, the reason why she was heartbroken.

/0\

When they arrived back at the apartment, Gabriella gave Sharpay one look at the blonde knew something bad had happened. She followed her best friend upstairs, knowing she needed someone.

"What happened?" Chad asked.

Troy sighed. "She loves me."

"You're just now finding that out?"

He turned to him. "What do you mean?"

"Dude, have you seriously been blind? She's been in love with you for a while."

"Why haven't I noticed?"

"Because after you found out about her being engaged to someone else, you seemed to have shut off your people reader when it came to her."

"It doesn't even matter anymore. She's still engaged to Max and she thinks I'm in love with Daisy."

"And you let her believe that?"

"Yeah. It'll make moving on easier for her."

"No, it won't, and you know it won't.

He shook his head. "Doesn't matter."

"You know it does, so don't try and deny it."

/0\

She was tired of this.

Staring numbly at the wall across from her, Gabriella barely registered Sharpay's feather light touches on her hair. It took everything in her not to push the blonde away. Out of all the people in Gabriella's life, Sharpay was the only one who cared enough.

"Everything's gonna be okay, Gabs."

"No, it's not," she said, her voice cracking in places. "He...he doesn't love me."

"What?"

Tears fell from her eyes. "Troy...he doesn't love me."

"How do you know?"

"He basically told me himself." Bringing her legs up to her chest, she wrapped her arms around them and leaned her chin against her knees. "I told him that I love him and...he just wrote it off as if it were nothing. He...he loves someone else."

"That's impossible. I'm never wrong."

"Well, you were this time," she snapped.

Sharpay coiled back, never experiencing this side of her best friend. Gabriella wasn't the type to get angry. If she did, her body language and words never held this much venom.

"Gabi..."

"I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I'm just... I'm tired of it. I can't take feeling this way anymore."

Sharpay said nothing as she wrapped an arm around Gabriella's shoulder and leaned her head on her shoulder. She could not fathom how her best friend felt. Growing up, Sharpay always thought that Gabriella had a great life, but after they became friends, she saw the truth; her life was far from great. It hadn't helped that it just got worse as she grew older.

"I hate my life."

The doorbell sounded and Gabriella got up to answer it, ignoring Sharpay's worried looks. She quickly made her way to the door, not caring that Troy said, repeatedly, that he would get it. Opening the door, she smiled slightly at the woman on the other side.

"Hey, Kelsi."

"Hey."

After her initial visit with her grandparents, Kelsi had been asked to be a bridesmaid by Maximilian's mother and stayed in California to help with wedding preparations. There was no doubt that she now knew that there wasn't going to _be_ a wedding.

"I'm guessing Max told you."

She nodded. "That he did. As much as I wanted to have you as a cousin-in-law, I know that this is better for you."

"So what brings you here?"

"I just wanted to..."

"Kelsi?"

The brunette's eyes glanced over Gabriella's shoulder and she went into shock. "T-Troy?"

Gabriella turned to the male behind her. "Wait, you know each other?"

He nodded. "She...she's an old friend of mine."

"I...I just remembered that I have some place to be, so I'll call you later," she said to Gabriella before turning to leave.

"Are you shitting me, Kelsi?" His voice stopped her. "Are you really just gonna leave and pretend like you have nothing to say to me?"

"That's because I don't." She turned back to him, her expression guarded. "I have nothing to say to you."

"Bullshit! Emma went with you that day; I know it. That family took both of you, so don't act like you can just walk away and not say anything to me."

Gabriella flinched at the anger that radiated off of him. Whoever this Emma was, she was important to him. Could she be the one, not Daisy, who he had been talking about; the one that he needed to find? And if so, who was she? What role did she play in Troy's life?

"Believe me, Troy, you don't wanna know."

"_Yes_, I do, and I believe I have the right to."

"But it won't make anything better," she answered, her voice cracking as her façade slipped.

"What?" he asked, confused. "What do you mean by that?"

"She's dead, Troy," she said, a tear sliding down her face. "She's been dead for three years, now."

His body froze. "What? H-How?"

"Some asshole, he...he killed her...he raped her and then drove a knife through her heart...and threw her body into the ocean," she explained, tears now falling freely down her face. "She's gone, Troy. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Without saying another word, Kelsi quickly made her way down the hallway to the elevator, crying the entire time she waited. It came moments later and she stepped inside, her sobs cut short by the closing doors. Gabriella looked to the blue-eyed male standing a few feet beside her. The emotionless expression on his face caused her to forget that her heart was in shambles.

"Troy."

His eyes snapped to hers and he shook his head, already seeing the questions forming in her mind. He didn't want to answer them; he didn't even want them to be voiced. Turning on his heel, he walked back to where both Chad and Sharpay sat looking more confused than Gabriella.

"Leave," he said to them both.

"But," Chad started, but Sharpay motioned for him not to.

She was used to that look on Troy's face. She'd seen it many times on Gabriella and she knew that he just wanted to be alone. Grabbing his arm, Sharpay pulled Chad up from the couch and towards the door. She sent a sad smile to Gabriella before leaving with her boyfriend at her heels. Gabriella waited until the door closed before moving to confront Troy. Her eyes fell on his slumped over form on the couch.

"Troy..."

"I'm not in the mood, Gabriella."

Keeping quiet, she took a seat on the coffee table, right in front of him. Cautiously, she brought her hand up to his cheek and touched him lightly. At the feel of her skin making contact with his, he pushed her hand away and stood.

"What part of 'I'm not in the mood' don't you fucking understand?"

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I was just trying to help."

"I don't need your fucking help. I don't need anyone's help..." His angered expression faltered, "I don't need anyone," he whispered before going in the direction of his room.

"That's not true." He stopped, keeping his back to her. "You do need someone. Getting through this on your own won't be easy... I should know."

She stood and carefully made her way to him.

"You just...you don't understand."

"Then help me to."

He turned to her and she stopped walking. "How? How can I help you understand when...when I don't even understand?"

"Tell me what happened."

"I-I don't know," he said, his voice filled with pain. "All I know is that...she's dead."

"Who is?"

"Emma," he whispered, "my sister."

His sister? Kelsi's adoptive sister had been his _real _sister? That... How was that? What about his parents? Shaking her head; now was not the time to question anything. She needed to focus on the man who had just found out that his sister had been dead for the past three years...and he hadn't even known.

"Troy..."

"She was all I had left," he cried, crumpling to his knees. "She was _all_ I had."

Gabriella watched him, her heart aching in response to each cry that escaped his lips. Rooted in her spot, her mind pushed and pulled her into different directions, trying to get her to do something. But do what? What could she possibly do or say to comfort him? Would he accept it if she tried?

He'd always been so strong, but now...now he was just as fragile as she had been only minutes before. She was usually the one that needed comfort. He was usually the one that gave comfort. But now the roles were reversed and she had no idea how to do what he did so well.

How do you provide comfort to someone who's always been invulnerable?

What do you say when 'sorry' feels like the wrong word?

The strangled sobs that echoed through the apartment brought her back to reality; back to him. She knew that she had said he needed someone, but she didn't expect it to be her. She didn't expect him to show her this side of him. She desperately wished that she could call someone who was better suited for this, but, apparently, he didn't want anyone to see him this way. If he had, then he wouldn't have sent Chad and Sharpay away.

Tired of standing there and doing nothing, she slowly moved to stand before him. She stared down at him with sad eyes before kneeling down to sit across from him, tucking her legs underneath her.

"Troy," she whispered as she reached for him.

Without warning, his hand stopped hers in mid-air and she watched as his fingers wrapped around her wrist. She kept still, not wanting him to push her away again. So she waited; waited for him to accept her. Her patience was rewarded minutes later when his hand slowly moved from her wrist to her fingers, lacing his with hers.

When he opened his eyes, she felt her heart stop. The expression in them was one she'd never seen before; at least not in the blue irises in front of her. It was one of raw pain; one that she was sure had been on her face a few times in her life. This look was foreign on his face and she hated it. Not giving it a second thought, she wrapped her arms around him and held him close.

She didn't care that he was ruining her shirt. He was all that mattered. As many times as she cried on his shoulder, it was about time she returned the favor. Running her fingers through his hair, she let the severity of the moment get to her and a single tear slid down her cheek. Seconds later, his arms wrapped around her midriff and grasped the back of her shirt, pulling her closer.

It was obvious to her, now, that she had always been that someone he needed...whether he wanted to admit to it or not.

**A/N: before the questions start, the answer to why Gabriella didn't tell Troy she's no longer engaged to Max will be answered in the next chapter. Also, I will admit that I did get teary eyed writing this chapter.**


	36. Chapter 35

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: So, I'm hoping to have the next chapter done by Zac's 23rd birthday on Monday, but for some reason, I don't think I will. Out of all 35 chapters so far, this is my favorite. And no, it's not because of the sex scene. I just think that this is the best written chapter of my entire writing career on Fanfiction. I actually like the way I wrote this and I did it in a matter of three hours. Can you believe that? 9 and a quarter pages in Microsoft Word, done in only three hours. But, yeah, like I said, there's a sex scene. I would tell people to skip it if they want, but the problem is...besides this first part(which is technically 3 pages) and the end(which is like 3 and a quarter pages), it's basically the whole chapter. lol.**

******Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 35

Listening to his shallow breathing, Gabriella stroked the short hairs on the back of his neck as she held him while he slept. Lying across the couch wasn't exactly comfortable with two people involved, but, at the moment, she would deal with it. Troy hadn't been in the correct emotional state to move him any further than the couch. He had cried for about an hour before Gabriella helped him to the soft cushions and then another hour before he fell asleep; his head resting promptly on her chest. After he'd drifted off, she'd slowly lowered herself so that they both were lying horizontal.

Sighing, she closed her eyes, wishing sleep would take her, but it just wouldn't come. As if sensing her inability to succumb to unconsciousness, Troy awoke, eyes blinking sleep away. He groaned before lifting himself up. Gabriella stared at him, waiting for him to acknowledge her. In the darkness of the room, his blue eyes found her brown ones.

"Hi," she whispered.

"Hi."

Moving himself off of her, he sat at the other end of the couch and watched as she sat upright. They sat in silence for a few moments, she watched him while he stared down at his leg. Never before had Troy shown anyone such a vulnerable side of himself. He had been determined to keep it hidden, but finding out that his sister was dead had caused a large enough crack in his wall to make the entire thing come crumbling down.

"Troy?" His head lifted, eyes connecting once more. "I...I know it's probably the last thing you want to hear, but..."

"Don't. Don't even say it. Just..."

She swallowed down the word that threatened to break through her lips. Instead, she nodded and slowly moved closer to him. Yes, it was nice to see this side of him, but it also hurt. It hurt to see him go through this and not be able to know what to do.

"Tell me what to do," she whispered, cupping his cheek. "Tell me what I need to do...to take away this pain."

Gaze unfaltering, he leaned into her touch. Seconds passed, but he said nothing. The silence was unnerving her. She wanted him to say something, anything, so she would feel like she was doing something to help him. Letting his eyes close, he enjoyed the feeling of her skin against his, but wanting more.

But he couldn't have more.

Eyes snapping open, he moved away from her and stood. She stared at him, confusion and concern marring her features.

"Troy?"

"I'm gonna go get some sleep," he said, not looking at her.

Anger and frustration filled her veins. She could not believe he was doing this. She could not believe that he was pushing her away during the one time that he needed her.

"G'night." He turned to walk.

"Stop."

He halted. "What?"

She stood, fists clenched at her sides. "Just stop. Stop pretending like the last few hours didn't happen; like you hadn't broken down in front of me. I'm tired of you trying to push me away every time I try to get close to you. I'm here for you, Troy, why can't you see that?"

"Because I can't afford to have someone to get close to me," he answered, turning to her. "Why can't you fucking understand that?"

"Maybe it's because it makes no sense to me. You..." She lessened the venom in her voice, "you've done so much for me. You comforted me when I needed it. But now you need that same thing and you won't accept it."

"Because I don't need it. I'm stronger than you."

"Bullshit. That's total bullshit. You lost your sister, Troy. It's okay for you to break down, it's okay for you to cry. It just proves that you're human; that you have a fucking heart. I don't see why you find something wrong with that."

"I don't want to feel anything, that's why. Being human means feeling shit and I don't want to. It's the reason why I've been building a wall around my heart and keeping people out. Opening your heart to people just results in suffering in the end. The more people you have to care about, the more you risk getting hurt."

"Troy..." She moved closer to him. "By closing your heart to people, then you run the risk of spending your life alone. Is that what you want?" she asked, placing her hands on either side of his face.

He shook his head. "No, but what else can I do?"

"You can let people love you."

"I can't. I can't because no matter what...it always happens. Why does it always have to happen?"

"Why does what always have to happen?"

He looked into her eyes. "They leave me," he whispered. "Why does everyone I love always leave me? My parents, my sister...even you."

His tortured voice clutched at her heart and she pulled him closer. She knew she should have asked what he'd meant, but that wasn't important at the moment. Holding onto him, she ran her fingers through his hair as she felt his arms go around her abdomen.

"I won't leave you."

Seconds passed by before she felt his nose rub against her neck. "Promise?"

She nodded. "I promise."

Grip tightening, he planted a soft kiss to the skin of her throat and breathed in her familiar scent. Despite his resolve to get rid of the feelings he had for Gabriella, he knew that there would be no one else that made him feel safe, made him feel wanted...made him feel like he was home. Letting up, Troy backed away slightly to look upon the woman that managed to steal his heart.

"Troy, what's wrong?"

Instead of answering, he bent his head and captured her lips with his. He didn't care if she was to be married. He didn't care that he was going against everything he fought hard to get rid of. At that moment, all he wanted was her. He needed to feel that familiar safe feeling he always got when he was with her, when he was inside of her. He was craving it.

"Troy, wait." She pulled away and looked into his eyes. "Are you sure you need this right now?"

He nodded. "I'm sure." He cupped her cheek. "You're the only one who makes me feel safe; like I'm wanted."

Seeing the sincerity in his eyes caused her blood to course, jump starting her heart. Biting her lip, she brought her hand up to his and clutched it before placing a kiss to his wrist. She looked into his ocean eyes once more before leaning up and pressing her lips to his. Almost immediately, he deepened the kiss and dug his fingers into her sides.

As mouths moved, hands began to wander.

She pressed both of hers to his chest before gravitating towards his belt. The only sound penetrating the open area was that of their lips smacking and the metal from his belt as she removed it. His own fingers found their way under the shirt she was wearing and felt the soft skin of her taunt stomach. Confusion flooded him when he felt something that he could have sworn wasn't there before.

"What's wrong?" she asked, when he stopped kissing her.

He didn't answer. Instead, he looked down and lifted her shirt. He was bewildered by the sight of something metal protruding from her navel.

"When did you get this?"

"Two months ago. You don't like it?"

"No, I-I do, I do, I just...wasn't expecting it."

She smirked. "It gives you something to play with."

His eyes snapped back up to hers, his azure eyes turning navy. Backing away slowly, she made a beeline for his bedroom, removing her shirt on the way. He followed like a lost puppy; closing the door behind him. The second he was in front of her again, she reached for the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head, tossing it to the floor before reattaching their lips.

Running his hand up her back, his fingers found the clasp of her bra and unhooked it. She moved her arms to her sides and allowed the piece of clothing to fall to the floor. It didn't take long before one of his hands located one mound of flesh and gripped it, causing a moan to escape her throat. Her head lolled backwards, her mouth opening to let out a breathy sigh, her bottom lip caught between his teeth.

Moving to her throat, he nibbled on her jugular and she tilted her head to the side to allow him better access. Another moan escaped her lips as his fingers began pressing down on her nipple, pinching it until it was firm and erect. Slipping her hands into his hair, she gripped the cropped mane, slightly missing the longer version. His lips traveled further down her body finding the valley between her breasts before latching onto one of her rock hard nipples.

"Oh..." she cooed, biting her lip at the wonderful feeling.

Without warning, he picked her up and wrapped her legs around his waist. She gasped in surprise, but, other than that, she made no acknowledgement to it. He carried her over to his bed, laying her down gently. Releasing her hardened peak from his mouth, he worked his way down to her belly button, kissing every inch of skin his lips could reach. When he arrived at the niche in her stomach, he immediately went for the metal addition that called to him. He pulled on it, gently, not trying to hurt her in the process. His tongue swirled around the ball before dipping into her navel.

She moaned and arched her back. Leaving the belly ring, he moved further down her stomach until he reached the top of her jeans. After removing the button, he reached for the zipper and, slowly, dragged it down. Placing another kiss to her belly, he took the hemline of her jeans and pulled it over her hips and down her legs. Once he freed her legs from their imprisonment, he looked over the beautiful woman lying in his bed. His gaze went from her knees, up her thighs, to the space between her legs, up her stomach, over her bare breasts and, finally, stopping at her face. Her eyes were watching him; big and brown and full of love.

Love.

His heart swelled at the remembrance of the word slipping from her lips. He never thought that she would say it. After everything that happened, he didn't think that he would ever hear her return the same sentiments that he felt for her, but she had.

"Say it." Confusion passed through those eyes of hers. "Say that you love me."

She smiled softly and brought herself into a sitting position. "I love you."

Smiling, he allowed himself to forget that she was an engaged woman; allowed himself to believe that for this one night, she was his...and his alone. Leaning down, he kissed her. Somewhere in his mind, however, something began to protest. That little voice that told him when he was close to getting his heart broken was screaming out for him to stop. As much as he tried, he couldn't block it out.

Breaking away from the kiss, he looked anywhere but at the questioning eyes of the woman in front of him. Sitting himself at the edge of the bed, Troy put his head in his hands and tried to fight back the emotions that wrapped itself around him.

"What's wrong?" Gabriella asked, rubbing his back; truly concerned for him.

"I can't do this."

"Why?"

"Because, Gabriella, you're...you're _engaged _and I..."

"No, I'm not."

"What?" He turned his head to her. It was his turn to be confused. "What do you mean you're not?"

She sighed. "That what I wanted to talk to you about earlier before you...made that announcement." Taking his hand in hers, she ran her thumb over his skin. "Max called it off...but even if he hadn't, I was going to."

"Why? I thought you wanted that."

"I thought I did too, but...I finally realized that it wasn't. I've been fighting so hard and for so long for my Father to just _love_ me, but I've finally come to grips with the fact that I was fighting for something that was never there to begin with." She looked at him. "I'm tired of it. If trying to make him happy means losing the one person that makes _me_ happy, then I don't want to try anymore."

His eyes searched hers for any dishonesty, but when he found none, he leaned over and kissed her lips. With the weight of losing her to someone else lifted from his shoulders, he was able to allow himself to love her, whole-heartedly, the way he wanted to. Turning his body to her, he pushed her gently onto the bed and hovered over her. Tongues battled for dominance as his fingers found her skin and hers found the zipper of his pants.

Once his jeans joined hers on the floor, there was only one barrier preventing their lower halves from uniting. Moving, once more, down her body, Troy's mouth found its way to her panties and kissed over the fabric until his face was parallel to her centre. Pushing her legs open, he breathed in the sweet scent and warmth that radiated from her core. Hooking his fingers through the waist band, he pulled down the lacy garment and removed them from her altogether. Kissing her from her knee to her inner thigh, he moved his head back between her legs and looked up at her as he began to push his tongue inside of her.

Gasping loudly, she arched her back and bucked her hips as stars began to form in front of her eyes. Her thrusts met with every intrusion of his tongue, creating friction in the best way. It felt like forever when the pressure in her lower abdomen finally exploded. She struggled to breathe as she slowly came down from her high. Closing her eyes, she listened to the sound of him dropping his boxers and crawling onto the bed. She felt him lift her body and his legs move underneath her. Her eyes opened when she felt him wrap her legs around his waist and pull her upright.

Mocha brown met ocean blue as their eyes met. He brushed her hair out of her face before capturing her lips in a soul-searing kiss. It was weird to taste herself on his tongue, but, at the same time, arousing. As their mouths meshed, he reached in between them and situated himself before pushing her down, sheathing himself inside her awaiting warmth.

The wonderful feeling of safety rushed through him, causing him to shudder lightly. After waiting for her walls to accommodate his size, he began to move slowly, allowing her to become comfortable with the pace. Once they'd set a steady rhythm, his hands found her back and held her close; their lips never parting.

When their lips finally did part, it was only because Gabriella needed a change of position. Leaning backwards, she placed her hands on the bed and held herself up. Troy decided to latch onto one of her nipples and sucked furiously as he listened to her increasing moans and the slapping of skin. Feeling his legs begin to cramp, he laid her down onto the bed and made himself comfortable once more between her legs before he continued to thrust into her. The next ten minutes was spent with them just staring at each other. Her blunt fingernails dug into his back as his pace began to speed up.

Loud panting, the occasional moan and the squeaking of the bed springs were the only sounds to fill the air waves in the room. As they neared the climax, however, Gabriella began to get vocal. Moans turned into words; preferably 'fuck', 'shit', and his name. He nearly lost it when the three words came up in the same sentence.

He wanted to last as long as it could, but he knew she wouldn't be able to hold out for much longer. Grabbing her hands, he held them over her head and laced his fingers with hers; burying his face in the space between her neck and her shoulder. In one last attempt to make it last, he slowed down. In retaliation, she bit down on his earlobe. That act alone caused him to impale her harder. She sucked in a breath, exhaling with a shudder. With each slow plunge, her nails dug further into his hands, creating half moons on his skin. Feeling himself on the brink of release, he picked up the pace before listening to her curse her way through her orgasm.

Breathing heavily, neither of them moved.

"Gabriella," he said, breathlessly.

"Hm?"

"I love you."

Her heart skipped a beat or two and she fought the urge to smile like a lunatic. So, instead, she placed a kiss to the heated skin of his shoulder blade.

/0\

Lying in the afterglow of their love making, Gabriella softly stroked his hair as he lay with his head resting on her naked chest. He was still awake, but neither had spoken since his confession. There were so many questions that they both had, but they hadn't found it important, at the moment, to talk about.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, his question coming out of nowhere.

"Tell you what?"

"That Max had ended the engagement."

She shrugged. "At the time, it didn't seem to matter anymore. I mean...you had just said that you were leaving. I didn't think it would make much of a difference if I did tell you." She looked down at him. "Why didn't you tell me that you loved me instead of making me believe that you loved Daisy?"

"Because it seemed easier. Since I thought that you were still engaged to Max, I thought it would make moving on a lot easier for you."

"How would that be easier? I was heartbroken."

"I know, and I'm sorry."

She dropped a kiss to the top of his head. "It's okay, Troy. I forgive you."

Silence enveloped the couple. There were still question floating around Gabriella's mind, but she wasn't sure if it would be right to voice them. What better way to find out than to just ask.

"What happened to them?"

"Who?"

"Your parents."

She felt his body tense for a split second before relaxing. He sighed, rolling off of her and lying on his back to stare at the ceiling. Moving to his side, she leant her head against his chest and listened to his heart.

"Tell me, Troy."

Closing his eyes, he swallowed down the lump in his throat before reopening his eyes to look once more at the ceiling.

"Remember when I told you about the car crash I was in...the one that gave me this scar?" She nodded, her fingers lightly touching the marred skin. "M-My Father was the one driving the car."

She gasped softly.

"It happened when I was eleven...the same day as my birthday. I had gotten into this fight with this kid at school. I found out he had been bullying my sister and I didn't take too kindly to it. At first, I didn't want to fight him, but then he said something else about her and I just couldn't stand there and not do anything. So...I punched the kid. A teacher brought me to the principal's office and the principal called my parents, telling them that I was suspended from school and for them to come pick me up. They were furious at me. On the ride home, they got into an argument about me. It was raining that day, so my Father was trying desperately to watch the road, but my Mother wasn't making it easier for him.

She saw the car first from her peripheral vision, but her warning came too late. We were hit head on. The driver's side was the hardest hit and...it was the reason why my Dad died on impact. If I had been on that side, I probably would have came out a lot more worse for wear than I did. My Mom fought her hardest to live. She knew Emma and I needed her, but her effort was futile. She...she died on the way to the hospital."

She sat up. "I'm so sorry, Troy."

He shook his head and followed suit, ignoring the fact that the sheets covering her breasts had fallen off. "It's not your fault...it's mine."

"How is it your fault?"

"Because if I hadn't gotten into that fight, my parents would be alive right now."

"That doesn't mean it's your fault. You had no control over that."

"Yes, I did. If I would have just walked away from that kid, I wouldn't have punched him and my parents wouldn't have had to come pick me up."

"But you were just being a good brother."

He sighed, frustrated. "I knew you wouldn't get it."

Moving to the edge of the bed, he let his legs hang over and let his elbows rest on his knees. Gabriella stared at his back, hurt and confused.

"Why would you say I wouldn't get it?"

"Because, Gabriella, nothing that happened in your life has been your fault."

"That's not true."

"Oh? Tell me what has," he said, looking at her from over his shoulder.

"If I had told my parents about Alejandro, they could have stopped him from becoming an addict. I could have prevented his death."

"Or, Alejandro could have ran away and hated you for the rest of his life. There could have been any other possibility with him, but with me...there was only one outcome if I hadn't have punched that kid."

He turned back around and placed his head in his hands. She swallowed the lump in her throat, preparing herself to tell him what no one else knew.

"D-Do you wanna know what happened? What's the reason why I hate my birthday?"

This intrigued him. He turned his head, slightly, watching her over his shoulder. He saw her clutch the sheets and close her eyes, fighting down the tears that threatened to fall.

"A-After my Mother's suicide, I...I became even more out of control than before. I drank, I partied; I did everything to piss off my Father and to make the pain of losing my Mother go away. But...it wasn't until three months after her death that I...lost my virginity. After that, I fucked any guy who asked. I moved through every day, drunk. I went to school drunk, I went to bed drunk. It was a normal thing for me. But...the day before my birthday, something happened that changed me forever.

I woke up, like I normally did; with a major hangover and in an unfamiliar bed. Since I was too young to get into clubs, house parties and frat parties were my only options. Whoever it was that I had slept with the night before was still sleeping soundly beside me. I took one look at the clock and found that it was later in the day than I expected and had already missed a full day of school. Opting for not disturbing the boy beside me, I grabbed my clothes and stood to get up, but something was wrong. I got this sharp pain in my stomach and then, all of a sudden, I just...started bleeding.

I was scared. I didn't know what was happening. All I thought was that I was going to die. When another pain shot through my stomach, I couldn't help but cry out and wake the sleeping body beside me. He asked me what was wrong and all I could do was tell him that my stomach was in pain. When he saw the blood, he freaked. I told him that I needed to get to a hospital and he nodded. Not wanting to call an ambulance, he dressed himself, then me, and carried me to his car; all the while, I'm writhing in pain. I think he broke every speeding law that day, but I didn't really pay attention.

Once he'd gotten to the hospital, he put me in the care of doctors and nurses and stayed by my side to make sure I was okay. And then..." She sniffed, "they told me."

She went silent and Troy turned fully towards her. "What happened?"

"I..." She bit her lip to stop from crying, but the tears rolled down her face anyway.

He crawled over to her, taking her hand. "Gabriella."

Her eyes snapped up to his. "I lost it," she whispered.

"Lost what?"

"My baby."

"You mean, you were...?"

She nodded. "And I hadn't even known until then. I miscarried. The doctor said it was from all the alcohol I had been consuming on a daily basis." She sniffed. "I lost it...and it's all my fault."

"Gabriella, it's not..."

"Yes, it is. I could have just dealt with my Mother's death the normal way, but I didn't. And because I didn't, I missed the signs that pointed to me being pregnant. I killed my baby before it even had a chance to live."

Bringing her into his arms, he allowed her to cry for the child she'd never knew. It wasn't long before they were back beneath the sheets, numbing their pain with the promise of something better. They would make love twice more that night before falling asleep, wrapped in each other's arms.


	37. Chapter 36

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: So, in less than 30 minutes(at least for the East Coast), one of the sexiest men to grace television will be turning 23. I wish Zachary David Alexander Efron a Happy Birthday, even though I know he'll never read this. Somehow or another, I managed to finish this in four days, even though I should have been working on my project. I'm pretty sure that the next chapter will be the the last. If not, you will know. There are some loose ends I gotta tie up.**

******Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 36

Sunlight filtered through the curtains of the small bedroom and landed on the sleeping face of the olive-skinned brunette, awaking her from her slumber. Groaning softly, she rolled over to escape the intruding light and tried to return to her unconscious state, but the damage was done; her body no longer wanted to rest. Slowly, she opened her eyes and came to stare at the face of the sleeping male beside her. There was peace in his features; something that hadn't been there hours before.

Everything was out in the open now; the death of his parents, her unintentional murder of her unborn child. It felt good to have that secret off her chest, but she wondered if he would see her differently now that she'd told him. They had both been too much of an emotional wreck to think it through last night, but it was a new day. Would his opinion of her stay the same, or would it change? She could only hope that it would be the former. She didn't want to lose him.

Reaching up, she brushed her fingertips over his cheek and down his jaw line. His eyelids fluttered seconds later before opening fully. He smiled, lazily, at her and she returned it.

"Morning," he said, stifling a yawn.

She leant over and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. "Morning."

"That's all I get?"

Rolling her eyes, she kissed him once more, this one deeper and more passionate than the first. Before she had a chance to move away, he grabbed her leg and rolled onto his back, bringing her with him. She squealed, pressing her hand against his chest to steady herself. Soon, she found herself straddling him and staring into his baby blues.

"Was that necessary?" she asked, folding her arms over his collarbone.

He nodded. "Absolutely necessary."

"Really? How so?"

"Well, for one, it gives me a clear view of your tits."

"Ugh." She hit his shoulder. "Pervert."

He chuckled. "And, second," He pushed her hair out of her face, "it lets me see into those beautiful eyes of yours."

She grinned. "Such a sweet talker."

Shrugging slightly, he smirked. "It's a gift."

Giggling, she shook her head and drew circles on the hollow at the base of his neck. Her laughter faded and a more serious look took hold of her features. Wanting to know what was going through her head, Troy grabbed her hand, causing her to look at him.

"What's wrong?"

She bit her lip. "Last night, the things I told you..."

"You regret it, don't you?" he asked, disappointment in his voice.

"What? No, _no_, I don't." She touched his cheek. "I could never regret anything with you."

"Then, what...?"

"It's just that...what I told you, I've never told anyone. A total of seven people, including you, know what happened that day. It was just such a horrible moment in my life that I just wanted to forget it ever occurred."

"Why did you tell me, then?"

"Because I was tired of it weighing down on me. I...I feel so much lighter now that you know, but..."

"But?"

"I don't want it to change your opinion of me."

"Gabriella," he sighed. "Gabriella, when I told you that I love you, I meant it. I love you, and every piece of emotional baggage that comes with you. Nothing's going to change that."

She smiled softly. "Thank you, Troy."

"What for? You managed to love me before you even truly knew me and, even after I told you everything, you still love me."

"There's one thing you didn't tell me, though. Whatever happened to your sister after your parents died?"

He swallowed the lump in his throat. "After their funeral, Emma and I were put into a group home. We spent six years there. At fourteen, she was finally adopted and...I never saw her again. I made her a promise that I would find her, but I never followed up on it. I was planning to, though, but then Kelsi happened and...well, you know the rest."

She nodded, resting her chin on her folded arms, watching him. The glazed look in his eyes told her that he was thinking about it; his sister's death and his parents'. Wanting him to forget them for just one moment, she pushed herself up and kissed him. When she pulled back, he smiled, though it did not reach his eyes. It wasn't the response she wanted, but it was better than nothing.

"So," she started, changing the subject, "what do you want to do now that I'm no longer required to marry Max?"

He lifted a brow. "Shouldn't I be asking you that question?"

"I already know what I want to do."

"Really? And what would that be?"

"I asked you first."

"Well..." He placed his hands on her hips, "I think we already _did_ what I wanted to do...four times last night." She blushed. "And I could go again right now, but I want to hear what it is you want to do now that you're free from your engagement."

"I can tell you what I don't want, and that is, not to get married until I'm thirty."

"Thirty?"

"Unless, of course, the right guy comes along." He grinned at the gleam in her eyes as she looked at him. "What I do want to do is..." She leaned in close to him, her hair creating a shroud around them, "make love to you for the next hour or two."

"I thought you'd never suggest that."

Closing the space, he captured her lips, his hand tangling through her hair. His other hand moved down her side to graze her backside and squeeze it gently. She giggled against his lips before moaning and pressing her bare breasts against his chest. Leaving her mouth, he went for her neck and worked on marking her. A breathy sigh escaped her lips and she closed her eyes.

_Knock, knock_.

Her brows furrowed. She could have sworn she heard someone knocking at the front door, but it was quickly put out of her head when she felt Troy's skilled fingers pinching her nipple. Who would be at her door anyway? Sharpay always called when she was coming over, Chad only came when Sharpay did, Kelsi said she would call her, Taylor was probably too busy with Max and Max had no reason to visit her anymore.

More knocking, this time more furious, reached her ears and she cursed inwardly. Troy, whether he heard it or not, did not stop his assault on her neck. Hoping the person would go away, she ignored it. But when it got louder, she knew she had to answer it.

"Troy, someone's at the door."

"So what? Let them stay there."

"I would, but I have a feeling whoever it is, isn't going to go away."

He sighed and kissed the hollow of her throat. "Fine. Go tell them to fuck off, so we can finish what we started."

Smirking, she shook her head and kissed his lips before climbing off of him. He watched her as she moved around the room in all her naked glory. Grabbing her panties and his shirt, she put them both on before going to answer the door. She was unpleasantly surprised to find who was waiting for her on the other side.

"Daddy," she gasped, suddenly feeling overexposed. "What are you doing here?"

He lifted an eyebrow at her attire, but didn't bother to comment on it. "May I come in?"

"Um...sure." She stepped out of the doorway to allow him entry.

Jorge Montez, having never been in his daughter's apartment, looked over everything. Walking to what he guessed was the living room, he took a seat on the couch and motioned for her to sit beside him. She, reluctantly, did so and waited for him to speak.

"I'm disappointed in you," he said after a few moments of silence. "I expected you to at least _fight_ for Maximilian, but I'm told you just...let him go."

"He found someone else, Daddy. Who was I to tell him he couldn't be with her? Besides, he didn't want to marry me and...and neither did I."

"It doesn't matter if you wanted to marry him or not, what matters is now the merger is ruined."

"No, it's not. I thought he told you this. The merger is not going to be effected by it. He said I can still run the company alongside him, even if we aren't married."

"That's just _it_, Gabriella. I don't want you to run the company."

She figured that much, but never wanted to admit it. "Then, what was the point?"

"Don't you get it? You were just a bargaining chip. In exchange for Maximilian getting a wife, I would get a son to run my company. It was supposed to be Alejandro's job to take over, but since you decided that your brother's life wasn't worth saving, he's dead and all I was left with was a..."

"Gabriella." Her head turned at the sound of Troy's voice, cursing his timing. "Who was at the...? Oh, hi."

"Who's this?" Jorge asked, eyes narrowed at the unfamiliar male in his daughter's apartment.

She turned back to her father. "Daddy, this is Troy, my boyfriend. Troy, this is my Dad."

Crossing the space between the bedroom door and the living room, Troy held out his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Sir."

Jorge didn't bother to shake his hand; instead, focused on scrutinizing the man's lack of clothing. Sensing the snuff, Troy pulled his arm back and, feeling uncomfortable in only his boxers, turned to Gabriella.

"Babe, why didn't you tell me that your Dad was here?"

"I didn't have much of a chance to. Besides, you're the one who came out with no pants on."

"Speaking of which, I should go put some on, shouldn't I?"

"That would be nice."

He nodded and kissed her cheek. "Be right back."

When he disappeared into the bedroom, she turned back to her father, preparing herself for the words that she knew would come. She flinched, internally, at the dark look in his eyes. Suddenly, out of nowhere, he chuckled. But it wasn't an ordinary chuckle. This one was bitter, much like the ones Troy used to give her.

"I can't believe this." He shook his head. "Can't keep your Goddamn legs closed."

"He's my boyfriend, Daddy. Besides, we just got together after Max ended things. It's not like we were together for months."

"But have you been fucking him for months?" She stayed quiet. He laughed. "I knew it. I fucking knew it."

"I thought you didn't care?"

"I didn't think you were actually fucking anyone. You really are a whore. You'll open your legs for anyone who's not good enough."

"Not good enough?" She stood. "How can you tell me that he's not good enough? You don't even know him. Hell, you don't even know me. You wouldn't know what's good enough for me if it bit you in the ass."

"Watch your language Gabriella Marie," he warned, standing up.

"No, I won't watch my language. For the past twenty-one years of my fucking life, I've done nothing but try to get you to love me, to get you to pay attention to me, and all you've ever done is ignore me. I'm sick of it. I'm _sick_ of trying to get your fucking approval. Your sperm may have helped create me, but you've never _once_ been the father that I needed."

"Speaks the bastard child. It's not my fault you're a Goddamn whore, like your Goddamn Mother."

"What?"

"Oh, you never knew? Your Mother cheated on me around the time she got pregnant with you, but she refused to get a paternity test. That's why I hated you. I never knew if you were mine or not and your existence reminded me that my wife, the one that I loved with all my heart, couldn't keep her legs closed. Then, to top it all off, she killed herself and left me with you. You, the bastard daughter, who was such a screw up that you were the reason why Alejandro died and the reason why your Mother couldn't find it in her to stay. But I can't really blame her. I mean, she lost her first born because her second born decided to keep it a secret that her brother was a druggie.

I should have had her abort you the second she told me she cheated. I should have found a better way to distract Alejandro so you would have drowned that day in the pool. Your death would have saved Alejandro's life and, in turn, your Mother's."

"No. Alejandro's death was _your_ fault. He hated you because you wouldn't save me. He turned to drugs because of you."

"He wouldn't have done it, if you hadn't existed in the first place."

"Hey!" Troy interceded. He had been listening on the side lines for a while now and he was tired of hearing this man tear Gabriella down. Walking up beside her, he wrapped an arm around her waist without tearing his eyes away from her father. "I think it's time for you to go."

Jorge looked him over. "I don't know who you think you're talking to, but you have no authority to tell me to leave."

"No, but I do," Gabriella said softly, unshed tears lining her eyes. "And I want you to."

"I don't know what's wrong with you," Troy said, "but I feel sorry for you."

"Oh? And why would you do that?"

"Because Gabriella is an amazing woman. She's smart, she's kind and she's beautiful. But none of that you can see, because you never bothered to even try. If I had a daughter, I'd want her to be like Gabriella."

"What, a slut?"

Clenching his fist, Troy fought the urge to punch the older male in the face. "No, a wonderful person. I can see why your son hated you so much. You're a sorry excuse for a father and an even sorrier excuse for a human being."

His eyes narrowed. "What would you know about being a father?"

"I don't. But I do know that not doing anything while she almost drowned, is not the way to treat a child; yours or not."

Taking his eyes off of Troy, Jorge turned back to his daughter. "The only reason why I came here today, Gabriella, is to tell you that I'm disowning you."

"What?"

"You heard me; I'm disowning you. I'm doing what I should have done the day you were born. For twenty-one years, you've been a thorn in my side and I'm removing it. So, from now on, you're no longer part of the Montez family." He gave her the once over. "Good riddance."

Frozen from shock, Gabriella did not even realize that her father had left until she felt Troy's hand on her back, rubbing it soothingly. He placed a kiss to her temple and maneuvered her to the couch, forcing her to sit down. Taking a seat beside her, he tried to get her to respond by brushing his thumb across her cheek.

"Gabriella?"

Her eyes snapped to his. She stared at him for a few moments before the weight of it all came crashing down on her. As many times as her father threatened to disown her, she didn't think he actually would. Now, she was without a family. So she cried. On instinct, Troy brought her onto his lap and held her as she let it all out. He stroked her hair as he whispered sweet nothings into her ear, trying to get her to calm down.

"I guess we have something in common now," she said, her voice soft and broken.

"What do you mean?"

"We're both alone in the world. We have no family left."

"Fortunately, Gabriella, that's where you're wrong. You still have people who care about you and consider you family. It may not be the same as having blood relatives, but it's something." He kissed her temple. "Besides, you know, as well as I, that Sharpay considers you her sister. You have her and her brother, then you have Chad and Destiny, and you have Taylor, and, of course...you have me."

She looked up at him, smiling sadly. "Thank you, Troy."

"You're welcome, Gabriella."

/0\

Troy watched their conversation from afar. He knew that Gabriella needed her best friend; it was the reason why he told her to call Sharpay and ask her if they could come over. Of course, the blonde had no qualms about it. Luckily, though, Sharpay was spending the day with Chad and Destiny, so Troy at least had someone to talk to while the girls had their alone time.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Chad asked; occasionally looking towards the shallow end of the pool to make sure Destiny was still there.

"Don't know."

He truly didn't. He knew the reason _why_ they'd come, but he wasn't sure if that's what the two girls were talking about. Not to mention, he wasn't sure if Gabriella wanted him to spread her business. Unless Sharpay made the situation known to Chad, Troy would stay quiet.

"So, when are you leaving again?"

"I'm not."

"Really? What changed your mind?"

His face darkened as he thought about the reason why he was no longer going to fulfill his promise. He had managed not to think about it since that morning when Gabriella asked him what happened to Emma, but he guessed he couldn't avoid it forever.

"She's dead."

"Who is?"

"My sister." He sighed. "She was the reason why I was leaving. I promised her that I would find her and I was going to, but then..."

"But then?"

"Then I found out she died...three years ago."

"I'm so sorry, Dude."

Shaking his head, he turned to Chad. "It's not anyone's fault, except for the bastard who killed her."

"What are you going to do now?"

"Stay with Gabriella. She needs me..." He turned back to Gabriella, smiling at her when he caught her eye, "and I need her."

Chad nodded. He didn't need to ask to know that Troy had made his affections known to the beautiful brunette. The soft smile that adorned her face when she looked at him told him that much. For as long as he's known him, Chad had never seen Troy as happy as he was when he was with Gabriella. He was glad that his best friend found someone that made his life easier.

"Shar said Gabriella's Father disowned her; that true?"

Nodding, he ran a hand through his hair. He guessed since Chad already knew about what happened, it wouldn't hurt just to give him the rundown.

"He came, unannounced, this morning. They got into an argument, he told her some things that she never knew, and I had to fight the urge to punch him in the face. The things he said to her..." He fought down his anger, "and then he told her that she was no longer a Montez."

"He, technically, can't do that, right? I mean, it's legally her last name. And I'm sure that her family isn't the only Montez family out there."

Troy turned to Chad. "Must you get technical? Of course, he can't take her last name from her, but he's removed her from his family. She's still Gabriella Montez, she just doesn't have a family anymore...at least not blood, anyway. She still has Sharpay."

"If I were her, I'd change my last name."

"So would I, but I don't know if she would be willing to." He grinned, an idea forming in his head. "Unless..."

"Unless, what?"

Saying nothing more, Troy stood and made his way over to Gabriella. Without either of the girls noticing, he sat down behind his girlfriend and kissed her bare shoulder. She turned to him, a smile on her face.

"Hey."

"Hi." She kissed him.

Feeling like she was intruding, Sharpay stood. "I'll leave you two alone."

"Thanks for the chat, Shar."

"Anything for you, Gabs."

Troy waited until Sharpay was situated next to Chad on the other side of the pool, her head resting on his shoulder as she watched Destiny play, a light smile on her face, before speaking.

"Seems she really likes Destiny," he commented.

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah. She told me she sees the little girl as her own. I think if she and Chad ever tie the knot, she'll adopt her." She turned to him. "What brings you over here?"

"What, I can't come see if my girlfriend is feeling better?"

"Of course you can, it's just that you and Chad seemed to be in deep conversation. What made you stop?"

"He gave me an idea."

"What kind of idea?"

"You know how your Dad said that you're no longer a Montez?"

"Yeah," she answered, wondering where he was going with this.

"Well, how about you make it official?"

"I-I don't understand."

"I'm saying, why don't you change your last name? Be someone else."

"Oh. Well, what would I change it to?"

He shrugged. "It's up to you. You could change it to Evans, so you could at least have something in common with Sharpay when you call her your sister, or...you could, I don't know, change it to Bolton."

She thought about it. "Gabriella Bolton. I don't know. Wouldn't it be weird if I had the same last name as my boyfriend and we're not even married."

"It's not all that weird. I've heard of people having the same name as their significant other without being married to them."

"I guess that's true."

"Besides..." He took her hand and laced their fingers, "who's to argue that we're not planning on getting married?"

"Is this your way of asking me to marry you?"

He shrugged. "Maybe. If you want."

Leaning in, she kissed him. "Ask me in two years and then we'll see."

Grinning, he pressed his forehead to hers, looking into her eyes. "So, will you?"

"Will I what?"

"Take my last name?"

"Of course, I will."

"Good. Gabriella Bolton sounds ten times better than Gabriella Evans, anyway."

She laughed. "Maybe to you and your ego, it does."

"What? You don't like the sound of my last name attached your first?"

Smiling, she moved so she was straddling him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "No, Troy, I _love_ the sound of your last name attached to my first. Just like I love you."

"I love you, too."


	38. Chapter 37

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: sorry for the wait. My brain shut down on me which is why I don't like this chapter at all. I will be making an Epilogue. When that will be; no clue. 10 more days until _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows _pt. 1! Sorry. I'm obsessed with it.**

******Warning**: rated M for sexual situations, language, drug use, sex

Chapter 37

He didn't need to hear the conversation to know something was wrong; the look on her beautiful face told him everything. Moving from his place on the couch, Troy walked towards the kitchen where Gabriella and Sharpay were currently occupying. His blue eyes glanced at the blonde, silently asking her if things were okay. She sighed and shook her head. A frown took over his features as he turned his attention to his pacing girlfriend.

"But..." She closed her eyes, frustration taking over. "You can't..." She nodded. "I understand."

She finally ended the call and continued to pace. Neither Troy nor Sharpay said anything, knowing that when she was ready, she would talk. After what seemed like forever, she stopped and threw her phone to the farthest corner she could find. Seeing Gabriella this upset, this angry, was an uncommon sight. The last time he'd seen her like this, he'd been on the receiving end of it. Seething, she began to pace again, much to the dismay of her boyfriend and her best friend.

"You know, if you keep pacing, you're gonna wear a hole in the floor," he said, trying to lighten the mood.

Whipping her head in his direction, she narrowed her eyes and walked towards him. This was not the time for him to be making jokes. "I'm not in the mood for one of your damn jokes, Troy."

"Sorry," he grumbled, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. "Forgive me for trying to make my girlfriend smile."

Her anger faltered. She realized she was directing her anger at the wrong person. Sighing, she began to pace once more, running her fingers through her hair.

"I'm sorry, I just..."

Troy walked into her path and grabbed her upper arms to cease her movements. "First of all, stop pacing. Second, it's fine. I know you're upset, but you gotta tell me what's wrong."

Biting her lip, she looked down at the floor. "My...my Dad refuses to pay the rent for the apartment anymore."

"Well, that's fine, right?" Sharpay asked, reminding them they she was still there. "I mean, you can use what you have in your trust fund to..."

She shook her head. "I don't have a trust fund, at least not anymore."

"How can that be possible? He didn't disown you until after you turned twenty-one. It should still be yours."

Cupping her cheek, Troy made her look at him. "It hasn't been yours in a while, has it?"

She looked into his eyes and shook her head. "No. He took it away from me after my Mother died."

"That son of a..." Sharpay ranted before catching herself.

"What are we going to do?" she asked him, ignoring her best friend's presence. "I can't afford this apartment; I wouldn't be able to on a regular salary. And I don't have money to find us a new place."

"Gabriella, calm down. I still have a good amount from what my parents left me. We can use that to..."

She shook her head and stepped away from him. "No, Troy, I couldn't. I couldn't make you give up that money."

"You're not making me do anything." He grabbed her hand, lacing their fingers. "Look, you're not the only one who's being affected by this, remember? If I have to spend some of my parents' money so we can have a place to live, then so be it."

"But...w-what if we...if we..."

"If we what?"

She adverted her eyes. "Break up."

Confusion passed over him. "You...you want us to break up?"

"No!" she said, desperate eyes looking to him. "No, of course not, but you never know what might happen and then you will never get that money back."

Pressing his lips to her forehead, he held the back of her skull, tangling his fingers in her hair. She had no reason to be worrying about something that might not even happen.

"Right now, what _will_ happen is more important than what _might_ happen."

"But..."

"We need money, Gabriella, so no more trying to talk me out of it."

"And when it runs out?" she asked. "What will we do then?"

"_If_ it runs out, and we'll cross that bridge if we get to it, alright?"

She nodded. "Alright."

"Besides, I doubt Malibu Barbie, here, will allow you to live on the streets," he said, referring to the silent Sharpay.

The blonde glared at him. "He's right." She moved up next to them and hit him, hard. "But call me that again and I'll make sure you never have kids."

He grinned. "And deny yourself nieces and nephews? Yeah, right."

"It's called: A sperm donor."

"I'd never allow that."

"It's not up to you, Bolton."

Gabriella laughed quietly at the banter. She loved the fact that no matter how upset she was, these two would be able to make her forget about her problems. She appreciated them for it; loved them for it.

"She's right, Troy, it's not up to you," she commented, laughing internally at the betrayed look on his face and the smug grin on Sharpay's. "But it doesn't matter because I wouldn't want to get pregnant that way, anyway."

Smirking, he stuck his tongue out at Sharpay. "See, Evans, that won't happen. I'm your last hope."

"Whatever." She turned her light brown eyes to Gabriella. "Listen, you focus on packing and I'll focus on finding you a place to live."

"Really?"

She nodded, smiling softly. "Of course."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." She kissed Gabriella's cheek. "Now, I need to go. Time waits for no one. I'll call you when I've found something."

"Okay."

"Toodles," she said before leaving.

"You know," Troy said after a few moments of silence, "your best friend is annoying."

She laughed. "No, she's not. She just likes annoying you."

He scrunched up his face. "Why?"

"Because it's the only way she can deal with you. You're her boyfriend's best friend and her best friend's boyfriend. Even if she doesn't want you to be, you're a part of her life. Though, I actually think she really does like you. You're the only one who returns every jab she takes at you and you two banter more than she does with her own brother."

Grinning, he pulled her close and buried his face into her shoulder. "I already know Sharpay likes me. If she didn't, she wouldn't have tried to get it through my thick skull that you were in love with me."

"That's what you two were arguing about that day?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I didn't really get what she was trying to get me to realize until you came out and told me the truth."

"Well, since you know she likes you, do you like her?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Really?"

"Yes. I've tried not to, but there are some things about her that chases away all reasons not to like her."

"What things?"

Lifting his head from her shoulder, he smiled softly. "Her complete loyalty and utter devotion to you. She could be doing anything, be anywhere, but when you need her, she comes. She doesn't ask any questions, she just drops what she's doing. Hell, if I had a best friend like that, my life would have been different." He leant his forehead against hers. "You're lucky to have someone like her."

She smiled. "I know."

/0\

"This place is amazing!"

Gabriella was all smiles as she walked through the apartment space that Sharpay had found. It had been three days since the blonde promised to find her best friend a place to live and she hadn't backed down on it. The apartment she found sat only a few steps away from Venice Beach and had three floors with two apartments on each. It was a two bedroom, one and a half bath with a kitchen, a living room and a dining area. Though it did not have the double floor like her original apartment had, she still loved it.

"Allow me to be the one to drop the bomb," Troy said as he wandered over to the window of the living room. "How much does it cost?"

Sharpay shrugged. "Not much."

"How much is 'not much?'"

"It's only twenty-two hundred a month."

Feeling her hope for it slip away, Gabriella looked at her best friend. "Shar, I can't afford that; _we_ can't afford that."

"Of course you can."

"How?"

"Because, Daddy is offering you a job in which you'll make that in a month."

"What? What job could that possibly be? I mean, I'm not good at anything. I barely finished high school and..."

"Gabs." The brunette stopped talking. "You know how much Daddy loves you. When I told him about your predicament, he said that 'even though your Father didn't want you, you're always welcome in our family' and said that he would give you an allowance if you promise to go back to school."

"Really?"

She nodded. "He said he'll give you twenty-five hundred a month if you promise him that you'll go to college to finish your education."

"But...how am I supposed to pay for it?"

"Have you not heard anything I said? _Daddy loves you_. He's going to pay for your tuition."

Gabriella smiled, on the brink of tears. Even though what was left of her real family didn't want her, her extended one did. Walking over to Sharpay, she wrapped her arms around her and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you, Shar."

"You're welcome, Gabi, but I think it's Daddy you need to thank."

"I know, but he's not here right now."

"True."

The two females laughed while Troy just watched from the sidelines. It was hard seeing them being so close when he didn't have that same connection with anyone. He meant it when he told Gabriella she was lucky. She had people who loved her and wouldn't want any bad situation to befall her. She had a family...even if they weren't blood. She had someone who was willing to do everything in her power to help her. Though he could call Chad his best friend and brother, it just wasn't the same. There wasn't that true familial love between them like there was between Gabriella and Sharpay. If it was, then Chad would have been able to help Troy when he started using cocaine. Unable to watch them anymore, he turned his attention away from the giggling girls and out the window.

/0\

He was never this quiet.

Gabriella glanced in Troy's direction as they unpacked everything. It had been almost a week since Sharpay had showed them the apartment. After signing for the lease two days later, Gabriella excitedly packed everything she owned. Unfortunately, she had so much stuff that it took her another two days to get it all together. In the midst of it all, she failed to see how withdrawn Troy had become...until now.

She had been watching Chad and Sharpay unpack the things that belonged in the kitchen, having a whispered conversation with each other and flirting every two minutes. It put a smile on her face until she realized that she should have been doing that with her own boyfriend. Her head shot around the room looking for him, but didn't find him. After going to look for him, she found him in the bedroom, placing clothes in the closet. She had asked if he needed any help and he just shrugged in response. Despite the hurt that ran through her, she helped him unpack the boxes full of clothing.

"Have I done something wrong?" she asked after minutes of uncomfortable silence.

He sighed and shook his head. "No."

She stood and walked to him, placing a hand on his back. "Then why have you been so quiet?"

"You're just now noticing?" he asked, bitterness taking a hold of him.

Recoiling her hand as if it had burned, she stepped away, hurt and confused. "I'm sorry."

All it took was one look into her molten brown eyes for him to release the anger that burned inside of him. With a regretful sigh, he turned to her and took her hand.

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."

"What's wrong, Troy?"

"It's just...you have a real family. Even if they aren't blood related, they still love you. They would still do anything to help you. Me, I don't have that. I've spent the past ten years of my life pushing people away...even my own sister because I was afraid of people leaving me like my parents did. And, in the end, Emma did leave me. Now, I have no one who I can consider to be true family."

"That's not true. What about Chad?"

"I may call him my brother, but...we just don't have that same bond that you have with Sharpay. He distanced himself as far away as possible when I started using cocaine. When I needed him, he wasn't there. Sharpay's always been there for you and she always will be. She's your family. I'll never have that."

Sorrow filled her as she looked upon her distressed boyfriend. She hadn't realized how much he didn't have. Her life may have been hell, but she had Sharpay to help her through it. Who did Troy have? No one. Placing her hand on his cheek, she brushed her thumb underneath his eye and watched as the blue orbs closed slowly.

"You do have someone you can call family," she whispered.

"Who?"

Leaning forward, she hovered close to his lips and stared at his closed lids. "Me."

Her lips pressed against his. She wanted him to know that he wasn't alone in this world. He had someone who cared for him, who would do anything for him. Pushing her hand into his hair, she played with the strands as she pulled away.

"I'm your family. I may not be much, but I am."

Staring down at the woman in front of him, he wondered if she could get any more amazing. He kissed her lips; love and gratitude pushing through.

"I love you," he whispered.

She smiled. "I love you, too. But I think we need to go and check on the other two. Who knows _what_ they're doing."

Chuckling, he took her hand and followed her out the room. He cringed when he saw Chad and Sharpay in a heavy make-out session in the kitchen.

"Hey!" he called, breaking them apart. Chad quickly moved from his spot between the blonde's legs and smiled sheepishly. "No one's allowed to christen any part of this apartment except me and Gabriella."

"But..."

"No, buts. When you guys get your own place, you can fuck on whatever surface you want. But it will not be happening here."

"Okay, Bolton, we won't," Sharpay said. "But that's only if you promise to take Destiny when we're feeling frisky enough to want to."

"Deal."

/0\

Sleep would not come easy and he wasn't sure why. So, instead of trying to force himself, he quietly rose out of bed and took a seat at the bedroom windowsill, staring out at the stars. They were brighter here than they were closer to downtown Los Angeles. Hearing the shift of sheets, he looked at the occupied bed, watching as the sleeping female moved into a different position and fall back into unconsciousness. He smiled softly. Their conversation from hours earlier still ran through his mind and warmed his heart.

After losing his sister to the adoption system, Troy had doubts that he would ever have any form of family and then when he found out that she died...he was sure that the prospect of family was out of his reach. But Gabriella showed him different. He was grateful for her; grateful that he met her. His head turned back to the window and he continued to watch the night sky. The sound of the sheets rustling entered his ears, but he didn't think anything of it until he felt her arms come around him.

"Can't sleep?"

"No."

Nodding, she moved so she was sitting between his legs and rested her head against his shoulder. With a smile, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her temple. They sat in complete silence, enjoying each other's presence. His mind drifted back to thoughts of family and, eventually, settled on thoughts of his sister.

"Troy..."

"Do you think she blamed me?" he asked, his eyes focused on the horizon. "Emma? Do you think she blamed me for not following through with my promise?"

She shook her head, her fingertips brushing over the hairs on his arm. "No, I don't."

"I do."

"Did you ever give her specifics? Did you ever tell her _when_ you were going to fulfill your promise?"

"No, but..."

"Then I really don't think she blamed you. For all she knew, you were somewhere looking for her, but you couldn't find her in time."

"I still feel like it was my fault."

"I know you do. I feel the same about Alex."

He stayed silent for a little while before asking: "Does it ever go away?"

"No," she sighed and cuddled closer to him, "but it does get easier."

He nodded, hoping it would. He didn't want to live with his conscience weighing heavily on his shoulders for the rest of his life. Even though the guilt would never completely fade, having it become an easier burden to bear was better than it constantly prodding painfully on his heart. Kissing her hair, he leant his chin atop her head and closed his eyes. The quietness between them was disrupted by a soft yawn escaping his lips.

"Tired?" she asked, a grin on her face.

"I am now," he answered, burying his nose into her hair.

"Come on." She smacked his arm lightly. "Back to bed."

He released his grip on her and allowed her to stand. He stood a few seconds afterwards and followed her back to the sheets that were beckoning him. Waiting until she laid down, he crawled up next to her and placed his arm over her hip. Staring at one another, they waited for the other to fall asleep, not wanting to be the first. Gabriella was the first to succumb to exhaustion and, for that, Troy was glad.

He stared at her; stared at her closed eyes, her nose, her cheeks and her lips. He wondered if she knew how much she meant to him. If he could ever express it in words, it would probably not be enough. Reaching for the hand that laid between them, he placed his over hers and laced their fingers. Taking a deep breath, Troy closed his eyes and followed her into the world of dreams, hoping that if he dreamt, he dreamt of her and nothing but.


	39. Epilogue

**Until We Bleed**

_by: LunarEclipse360_

**A/N: I am so, so, _so _sorry for keeping you guys waiting. The past few weeks have been hectic. For one, I moved. Still in NYC, still in my beloved borough of The Bronx, just in a different section of it. For two weeks, following my move, I was without internet. Once I got it back, I devoted my time to my youtube channel which has basically been neglected for three months. And on top of it all...writer's block is a bitch. So, enjoy this final installment of _Until We Bleed_ and, hopefully, I will be able to finish the three stories that is already in progress; speaking of which, anyone have any ideas for _Just One Bite_, cause I got nothing.**

Epilogue

Childish laughter rang through the Italian villa as Destiny Danforth ran from her non-blood uncle, Troy Bolton. They had been playing a game of tag for the past hour and, even though he was exhausted, he didn't give up the chase. Finally catching her, he lifted her off her feet and began to brush his fingertips against her sides where he knew she was ticklish. She squirmed in his grip, desperately trying to get away from him, but failing greatly. It was no secret that he loved the little girl as if she were his own. Whenever her father left her in his care, Troy doted on her like she were his blood.

With a soft smile, Gabriella Bolton _née_ Montez watched the scene playing out in front of her with a sparkle in her eyes. She loved watching them; loved seeing how caring Troy could be with the child. She knew he wanted one of his own—a girl—and knew that she wanted to be the one to give him that wish. But she wasn't sure if she could. The unexpected pregnancy and miscarriage of her first born had left a lasting impression on her soul. It was the reason why she never failed to take her birth control pills.

"Uncle. Troy. I can't. Breathe," Destiny laughed out.

Chuckling, he stopped his ministrations and lifted her over his shoulder. Before he could move her into a different room, the front door opened and in walked Destiny's father and 'Mama Sharpay' as she liked to call her.

"Daddy, help!"

Chad Danforth laughed. "Troy, if you don't put my daughter down..."

"You'll what?"

Grinning playfully, Chad ran at his best friend, but before he could reach him, Troy ran off with Destiny still over his shoulder. Sharpay Evans shook her head and sat down beside her best friend.

"Those two are such children."

Gabriella nodded. "That they are, but we love them anyway."

"Unfortunately," the blonde responded with a sigh. "So, what's up?"

"Nothing."

"Oh, come on, Gabi. I know you, I can tell when there's something wrong. It's written all over your face."

"That obvious, huh?"

"Pretty much." She took Gabriella's hand. "Tell me."

Sighing, Gabriella played with the hem of her skirt. "I don't...I don't know what to do."

"In terms of?"

"In terms of having kids one day. I mean, I know Troy's wants them, but I... Ever since the miscarriage, I've been afraid of becoming pregnant again; afraid that the same thing will happen."

Wrapping her arms around her best friend, Sharpay tried hard to provide the right comfort. Since the day Gabriella had revealed the events of her seventeenth birthday, the blonde had found it hard to comfort her. It was simpler to comfort her when her qualms had to do with her mother and Alejandro because she could imagine what it would be like to lose her own parent and sibling. But it was different when it came to talking about the child that almost was. The only experience that the blonde had in that department was with Destiny, but even then it was different. She knew it would hurt to lose the child, but she couldn't imagine losing her if she were—genetically—hers.

"Gabriella, I don't really know what to tell you except that you should talk to Troy."

She pulled back. "And tell him what?"

"I don't know, but he still needs to know this. At least if he knows, you two could figure something out for the long run."

"But what...what if he doesn't want to be with me anymore?"

Sharpay smirked. "That won't happen. He's crazy about you."

"He's also crazy about kids." She ran a hand through her hair before playing with the ends. "He's crazy about them, he wants them, he..." She turned to Sharpay, "he'll be crushed if he finds out that I'm not ready to have them and don't know when I'll ever be."

"You two could always adopt."

"Yeah, I-I guess so."

"But, in the mean time, you need to talk to Troy."

"Talk to me about what?"

Both girls looked up, but it was the nervous look in Gabriella's eyes that caused his smile to slowly slip off his face. Removing, Destiny from his shoulders, he looked expectantly at his girlfriend; waiting for her to say something. Sighing, she stood and went in the direction of the glass door that led to the patio. Troy followed, closing the door on his way out.

"Gabriella, what's going on?"

Keeping her back to him, she tried to think of the different ways that she could break this to him, but each came with the same result: rejection. She didn't want to hear the words that would come from his lips once she told him her fears.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure; what is it?"

"How...how much does having kids mean to you?"

"It means a lot to me. Why?"

"I-I..." She couldn't do it; she couldn't tell him. "I'm sorry. I can't."

Leaving him lost and confused, she wandered down the staircase that led to the private beach, owned by the Evans family. She wrapped her arms around her body, trying to hold herself together and not break down and cry.

"Gabriella."

She didn't stop. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't.

"Gabriella, wait." He grabbed her arm and forced her to come to a stop. "Talk to me, Gabriella. Tell me what's wrong?"

"I..." Reluctantly, she looked up; tears lining her eyes. "You deserve someone better than me."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"I love you, Troy, but I don't...I don't think we'll be able to work. I'm sorry."

She tore her arm from his grip and ran off. Troy stared after her; shocked, confused and hurt. He didn't understand what was going on with his girlfriend, but he intended to find out. As he started off in the direction she took off in, a hand on his arm caught him before he could. He turned and found himself staring into the caramel eyes of his girlfriend's best friend.

Sharpay smiled sadly at him and said, "Let her go. She just...needs some time to herself."

"But I..."

She grabbed his arm and pulled him back towards the house. Reluctantly, he followed; turning his head around every few steps to see if Gabriella had reappeared.

/0\

Where was she? It was well past sundown and, yet, she hadn't returned. He was beginning to worry about her. Staring out the glass door, Troy scanned the beach below for any sign of his girlfriend. But there was none. She was out there alone; who knows what might have happened to her. If she wasn't back in ten minutes, he would go out looking for her. He nodded his head, deciding that such an act was a good idea.

"She's fine, you know."

"How can you be so sure?"

Sharpay stepped up to him. "Because I know her. Right now, she's going through something and, when she's ready, she'll come back and talk to you."

He turned to her. "Why does she think I would be better off with someone else?"

Biting her lip, she shrugged. "I can't really say."

"Why?"

"Because, Troy...it'll be better if you find out yourself."

"What if she doesn't tell me?"

"She will; just give her time."

Nodding, he turned his eyes back to the darkened horizon; only faint light from the city limits providing any illumination for him to see with. Out of the darkness, he could make out the outline of his girlfriend as she approached the staircase. Sharpay, knowing that the couple needed to talk things over alone, suggested to Chad and Destiny that they have a family night out. Before Gabriella could reach the glass doors, the three were gone; leaving him alone with her.

"Hi."

"Hey."

She looked away as she played with her hair. "C-Can we talk?"

"Are you gonna run again?"

She shook her head. "No."

He motioned for her to follow him and she did; matching his every footstep. They walked into the living room in complete silence and took a seat. Gabriella kept her eyes down.

Sighing, he took her hand. "Talk to me, Gabriella; tell me what's wrong?"

She sniffed and looked at him. "I'm scared."

"Scared of what?"

"Of what you'll say."

"Why would you be afraid of what I might say?"

"Because..." She lowered her gaze, "I don't think you'll like what I have to tell you."

"What is this about?"

"W-Would it bother you if I-I told you that I don't think I can have kids."

His body tensed. "What do you mean? D-Did something happen during the miscarriage to prevent you from having kids? Or did you...you know, get your tubes tied or something?"

She shook her head. "No, it's nothing like that."

"Then...why?"

Sighing heavily, she said, "I'm not sure if I can ever have kids because I'm afraid that I'll have another miscarriage."

"Gabriella, you miscarried because you had no idea you were pregnant. You were wrought with grief and it clouded over your mind; it caused you not to recognize the changes your body was going through." He squeezed her hand. "The next time, you'll see the signs and you'll be ready."

"But what if I don't? What if I...?"

"Stop." She silenced herself. "Look, at the moment, having children is far from my mind. Right now, I just want to be with you and have you all to myself for as long as I can. When you're ready, then we'll try, but, for now, let's just focus on us."

"But what if I'm never ready?"

He stroked her cheek. "Then I'll deal with it."

"Troy..."

She was speechless. The way he looked at Destiny, the way he treated her, made it glaringly obvious that he wanted to have kids. They always say that some men are born to be fathers and some learn to be. Well, Troy was born with paternal instincts. He would make a great father, yet, here he was...denying himself the chance to be one.

"How can you be so accepting of this? I mean...you could be with someone who would give you a child in a heartbeat without any fears of what might happen."

Nodding, he ran his thumb over her lower lip. "True, but she wouldn't be you."

Brown met blue as she lifted her eyes. He held her gaze before smiling and closing the space between them. He kissed her softly and lovingly.

Pulling back, he looked into her eyes and whispered, "It doesn't matter if we ever have kids or not, because, either way, I'll always love you."

"But you deserve to get a fresh start; deserve to have a family to call your own."

"I have one." He traced his fingers over her jaw, enjoying the feeling of her skin beneath his. "Not too long ago, you told me that you're my family." A small smirk graced his lips. "You may not be much, but you are...and you're all the family I'll ever want or need."

Finally, after what seemed like forever, a tiny smile appeared on her face. His smirk transformed into a smile as he watched her lips upturn.

"There's the smile I love so much."

Her smile widened and she moved so she could sit on his lap. Softly sighing, she leaned her head against his shoulder and listened to his heart beat. His arms snaked around her and pulled her closer. One day, she hoped, she would give Troy the child he wanted and deserved, but even if she didn't, he would understand and he wouldn't hold it against her. Because of his undying devotion, she promised herself—and him—that she would find some way to get over her fear and start the family that they both needed. But, until that day came, she would enjoy every moment she had with him.


End file.
